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Third class medical /Oshkosh

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I got the exact same reply. I was going to respond, but honestly -- it would be a complete waste of my time. If ALPA management is suffering that badly from recto-cranial inversion nothing I say is going to make a difference. I'll focus on trying to educate my Congressional rep. One Senator is a cosponsor already; I called the other's office Monday and explained the issue to his staffer, asked him to sign on.

I have to say that ALPA's proficiency at cherry picking and misrepresenting data would do a politician proud.
 
mikeflys8 said:
Received this yesterday from ALPA. If you're an ALPA member might want to "educate" your leadership.



Hi Mike,

Thanks for the note. We understand that this is an emotional issue.

A couple points that were contained in the AOPA and EAA messages to their members are incorrect. Just so you are aware, we have been attempting to work this issue with AOPA for some time now and in fact thought we had identified a middle ground solution. We spoke with GAMA reps about that middle ground solution in order to start to build consensus. It was the attempt to attach the amendment to the surface transportation bill without prior coordination that triggered ALPA?s response on Friday.

As you know, ALPA?s responsibility is to advocate for our members in their capacity as professional airline pilots. As highlighted we have been trying to work with AOPA to satisfy their concerns but they went ahead, without our knowledge, in an attempt to attach this amendment to the Highway Bill.

ALPA?s long standing policy is to maintain the highest level of safety within the National Air Space system. Self-certification of medical qualification for pilots flying in the same airspace as airlines is a step backwards from maintaining the highest levels of safety. You are correct in that all ALPA members who are also GA pilots hold a Class 1 or 2 medical (as part of their jobs) and thus not affected by this issues except for the fact it could have an adverse effect on the safety of the airspace in which we operate.

Contrary to many assertions, there have been airborne medical issues for GA pilots, just like commercial pilots, and moving to medical self-certification will just make it worse. There are a couple stats released by NTSB and the Aerospace Medical Association that folks should review when considering whether medical self-certification is safe. The Aerospace Medical Association has stated that immediately after the Sport pilot category was introduced the general aviation accident rate increased by 20% and NTSB has documented the sharp increase in accident involving Sport pilots where prohibited substances were found in the system of the pilot and contributed to the accident.

We are hoping to continue to work with AOPA and other stakeholders to find a solution to the their special issuance concerns and any other problem they would like to address. There are other aspects of the pilots bill of rights that we support which is why we have attempted to work the issue with AOPA.

Hope that this helps.

Keith Hagy
Director ? Engineering and Air Safety Department
Click to expand...

Cut from the NTSB white paper above:

"Study data also indicate that the proportion of study pilots flying without a valid medical certificate more than doubled since the Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft Rule went into effect in September 2004. In combination, these findings suggest an increased risk of accidents due to pilot impairment for this group of pilots. However, there has not been a corresponding increase in the proportion of accidents in which the NTSB determined that impairment contributed to the accident. "

DanH show the graph above, this is cut from the "Conclusions" of the report. ALPA Response: Cherry picking at best, propaganda at worst.
 
This info was passed along to me via an email thread about this out at our airport; I was relieved to hear the Director's comments about whether he thought the legislation would pass or not. TXDOT is the Texas Department of Transportation...

Rob S.

Message follows:


All,

Not to discourage you for contacting your Senators and the like to get this bill passed, and please do what you need to do, and feel you need to do. That being said, I had a nice talk with David Fulton, Director of Aviation with TXDOT about the ALPA letter and the Bill this morning. He was fully aware for the letter and assured me that he had already talked with many of the Senators sponsoring this bill. (BTW this piece of legislation is attached to 2 House bills, a Senate Bill, a Highway Bill and some other Bill that has to do with the FAA. Yes, this is legislation is attached to 5 different Bills) He assured me it is going to go through. He said that in the worst case, it will go through with the Highway Bill. The ALPA letter has not changed anyones mind (that he had talked with). Dave owns, hangers and flies his Bonanza out of 50R. He is talking with these guy everyday to get this and other legislation passed. I trust him when he says that it will go through. Maybe not on the Senate Bill but on one of the other 4 to which it is attached.

Now that I have said my piece, and you have read it, please resume calling Ted Cruz.
 
I am reading that the house plans to vote on a three month extension to the current transportation Bill which will kick the PBOR2 to the curb for at least three more months. If that is true we all need to spend the next three months overwhelming our representatives with our view and insure the decision is positive
 
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rmartingt said:
....
Worrying about pilots with hernias or traces of over-the-counter antihistamines in their system is like worrying about a leaky faucet when flood waters are pouring into your basement and there's a gaping hole in the roof letting the rain in.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't reference the antihistamine bit too much. A quote from the web...

Here?s a quote from Pilot Medical Solutions, Inc.? Some medications or medical conditions that present no problem on the runway may have significant adverse effects at 10,000 feet. A good example is Benadryl, an over-the-counter cold medication, which is the most common drug found in the bodies of dead pilots.

However, any antihistamine use has nothing to do with Third Class Medicals. The use of Benedryl could be a factor in any of the three or four major accident causes - it doesn't affect this discussion.
 
Politics rules vio.

I've been lax in enforcing rule #3 at http://www.vansairforce.net/rules.htm. I apologize for that.

I'm locking this thread down, but will leave it in the archives for awhile. Again, if your post on VAF contains the words 'Senator' or 'Congressman', or something similar, it's not for here. Please take this type discussion to either the AOPA or EAA sites. It's what they are for.

Do not use my site to 'rally the troops' for policy whatever at EAA/AOPA/FAA, etc. There are better places for that.

Regards,
Doug Reeves
VAF Site Owner
 
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