BasicMed options in case of FAA action

[azure]

Let me preface this by saying that as far as I'm concerned this is purely hypothetical -- the FAA has NOT sent me any letters asking for more information. In fact, other than a notice of registration renewal last year, I haven't gotten ANY letters from the FAA in over two years. And I have no reason to think that will change.

But in a thread on the AOPA forum, someone posted a reference to 14 CFR 68.11, which in part reads as follows:

If the Administrator receives credible or urgent information, including from the National Driver Register or the Administrator's Safety Hotline, that reflects on an individual's ability to safely operate an aircraft under ? 61.113(i) of this chapter, the Administrator may require the individual to provide additional information or history so that the Administrator may determine whether the individual is safe to continue operating under that section.

"Credible or urgent information"... and Dr. Bruce mentioned a case he knows of where an airman's doctor sent a copy of an office visit note to the FAA, without permission and unbeknownst to the airman. Dr. Bruce has also said several times that if an airman holding a 3rd class medical certificate knows that the FAA is about to receive potentially disqualifying medical information from a 3rd party, his best course of action is to send in his medical certificate to OKC for cancellation, because FAA will not pursue action unless the airman holds or has an active application for an FAA medical certificate.

How would this play out for someone flying under BasicMed, who does not have any medical certificate to send in? Except for the quoted excerpt from 68.11, I would have thought this a non-issue -- the CMEC is between you and your PCP or AME, FAA never sees the details, and other than administrative ineligibility (such as having one's last 3rd class application denied), a BasicMed pilot should never receive the dreaded "request for more information" letter from OKC.

Dr. Bruce posted an example of the letter that is sent to BasicMed airmen, however, so it does exist, and while others have said that it is never sent out except in cases where administrative red flags exist, 68.11 implies that it could be sent out "for safety reasons" as well, which could mean anything from an NTSB investigation to a citizen complaint to 3rd party medical information.

So I thought I would throw this out here, for discussion and NOT to generate paranoia, though I guess there is no preventing some degree of that. I'm just wondering to what extent it is a reasonable concern.

 

[midlifeflyer]

As an example, I have heard of 68.11 action being taken as the result of a crash with serious injuries to the pilot.

As for BasicMed, we don't know for sure until it happens. Theoretically, there is nothing there for the FAA to revoke, but there are definitely other avenues such as civil penalties and the suspension or revocation of pilot certificates for violating self-grounding requirements.

 

[azure]

Yes, I was thinking mostly of a Bob Hoover-type scenario, sans medical certificate. Basically, the FAA says, you are not safe to fly, in our opinion. Can they do that? If so, what would their standards be for when to come down on someone.

I am NOT talking about a condition in the "big three" categories that require an SI per the statute. But there are so many conditions the FAA considers disqualifying for 3rd class that don't require an SI for BasicMed eligibility. Some of them could potentially pose a safety issue, e.g. inadequately controlled diabetes, certain cancers, arrhythmias like V-tach or SVT, or even panic disorder (which is common and certainly not a psychosis). Some almost certainly would not, but the FAA would require reams of documentation anyway for a 3rd class SI.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Yes, I was thinking mostly of a Bob Hoover-type scenario, sans medical certificate. Basically, the FAA says, you are not safe to fly, in our opinion. Can they do that? If so, what would their standards be for when to come down on someone.

Sure, I don't see why they couldn't do that, but the actual process would be different. The net effect in both, though, seems to me to be, in neither case is the FAA saying "don't fly." They are saying, "If you do, you are facing pilot certificate action."

In the 1st-3rd class world, it's a bit easier for the FAA since they have something to revoke, so all they have to prove is you flew without a certificate. In the self-certification world, except for false statements, the the proof would be that you are in fact unsafe. How easy or difficult that is to prove, is going to be situation-dependent.

I wouldn't get paranoid about it. That might trigger the letter!

 

[Palmpilot]

According to 68.11(b), and the identical language at the end of section 2307 of Public Law 114-190, the FAA's options are to either request additional information, or to take action under 49 USC 44709(b).

http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?...lim&num=0&jumpTo=true#substructure-location_b

Looks to me like a pretty broad list of options.

 

[bbchien]

Let me preface this by saying that as far as I'm concerned this is purely hypothetical -- the FAA has NOT sent me any letters asking for more information. In fact, other than a notice of registration renewal last year, I haven't gotten ANY letters from the FAA in over two years. And I have no reason to think that will change.

But in a thread on the AOPA forum, someone posted a reference to 14 CFR 68.11, which in part reads as follows:



"Credible or urgent information"... and Dr. Bruce mentioned a case he knows of where an airman's doctor sent a copy of an office visit note to the FAA, without permission and unbeknownst to the airman. Dr. Bruce has also said several times that if an airman holding a 3rd class medical certificate knows that the FAA is about to receive potentially disqualifying medical information from a 3rd party, his best course of action is to send in his medical certificate to OKC for cancellation, because FAA will not pursue action unless the airman holds or has an active application for an FAA medical certificate.

How would this play out for someone flying under BasicMed, who does not have any medical certificate to send in? Except for the quoted excerpt from 68.11, I would have thought this a non-issue -- the CMEC is between you and your PCP or AME, FAA never sees the details, and other than administrative ineligibility (such as having one's last 3rd class application denied), a BasicMed pilot should never receive the dreaded "request for more information" letter from OKC.

Dr. Bruce posted an example of the letter that is sent to BasicMed airmen, however, so it does exist, and while others have said that it is never sent out except in cases where administrative red flags exist, 68.11 implies that it could be sent out "for safety reasons" as well, which could mean anything from an NTSB investigation to a citizen complaint to 3rd party medical information.

So I thought I would throw this out here, for discussion and NOT to generate paranoia, though I guess there is no preventing some degree of that. I'm just wondering to what extent it is a reasonable concern.

FAA will action against any certificate it can. In this case it would be the airman’s pilot certificate.

I too an waiting to see how far it goes.....