Background
The Pilot's Bill of Rights is federal legislation that establishes fundamental procedural rights and protections for pilots during FAA enforcement actions and investigations. The law requires the FAA to provide timely written notification to pilots under investigation, grants pilots access to air traffic data and investigative reports, eliminates automatic deference to FAA interpretations in appeals, allows pilots to appeal certificate actions to federal district courts with full independent review, and mandates improvements to the NOTAM system. Additionally, it directs assessment of the medical certification process and establishes clear procedures for airman certificate reexaminations. These provisions ensure pilots receive due process, have access to evidence, and can mount effective defenses when facing certificate denial, suspension, or revocation. Below are the legal and ethical principles involved.
- Flying is a privilege not a right
- Pilots must submit sensitive personal information to the government, this is requirement of the job
- Pilot's have a legal duty to be honest (fraud is a crime)
- Fair Due Process demands that any defendant is able to access info that could be used against them
- Government has a duty to safeguard private information, and it must operate with fairness and reasonably transparency
- If the government is taking action against an airman that puts the pilot's license or medical certificate in jeopardy, the airman must have access to that information (evidential discovery)
- This access includes air traffic data and medical data
- Immediately below (blue background) is MedXPress's Synopsis of the Pilot's Bill of Rights (Accessed 24 March 2014)
- Further Below (white background) is actual Public Law 112-153, the statutory Pilot's Bill of Rights (Passed Aug 2012 Amended 2024)
Below is Actual Text of the Public Law 153
Pilot's Bill of Rights:
Section 1. Short Title
49 U.S.C. 40101 note
This Act may be cited as the "Pilot's Bill of Rights".
Section 2. Federal Aviation Administration Enforcement Proceedings and Elimination of Deference
49 U.S.C. 44703 note
(a) In General
Any proceeding conducted under subpart C, D, or F of part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to denial, amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of an airman certificate, shall be conducted, to the extent practicable, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence.
(b) Access to Information
(1) In General
Except as provided under paragraph (3), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (referred to in this section as the "Administrator") shall provide timely, written notification to an individual who is the subject of an investigation relating to the approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of an airman certificate under chapter 447 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) Information Required
The notification required under paragraph (1) shall inform the individual—
- (A) of the nature of the investigation and the specific activity on which the investigation is based;
- (B) that an oral or written response to a Letter of Investigation from the Administrator is not required;
- (C) that no action or adverse inference can be taken against the individual for declining to respond to a Letter of Investigation from the Administrator;
- (D) that any response to a Letter of Investigation from the Administrator or to an inquiry made by a representative of the Administrator by the individual may be used as evidence against the individual;
- (E) that the releasable portions of the Administrator's investigative report will be available to the individual; and
- (F) that the individual is entitled to access or otherwise obtain air traffic data described in paragraph (4).
(3) Exception
The Administrator may delay notification under paragraph (1) if the Administrator determines that such notification may threaten the integrity of the investigation.
(4) Access to Air Traffic Data
(A) FAA Air Traffic Data
The Administrator shall provide an individual described in paragraph (1) with timely access to any air traffic data in the possession of the Federal Aviation Administration that would facilitate the individual's ability to productively participate in a proceeding relating to an investigation described in such paragraph.
(B) Air Traffic Data Defined
As used in subparagraph (A), the term "air traffic data" includes—
- (i) relevant air traffic communication tapes;
- (ii) radar information;
- (iii) air traffic controller statements;
- (iv) flight data;
- (v) investigative reports; and
- (vi) any other air traffic or flight data in the Federal Aviation Administration's possession that would facilitate the individual's ability to productively participate in the proceeding.
(C) Government Contractor Air Traffic Data
- (i) In General — Any individual described in paragraph (1) is entitled to obtain any air traffic data that would facilitate the individual's ability to productively participate in a proceeding relating to an investigation described in such paragraph from a government contractor that provides operational services to the Federal Aviation Administration, including control towers and flight service stations.
- (ii) Required Information from Individual — The individual may obtain the information described in clause (i) by submitting a request to the Administrator that—
- (I) describes the facility at which such information is located; and
- (II) identifies the date on which such information was generated.
- (iii) Provision of Information to Individual — If the Administrator receives a request under this subparagraph, the Administrator shall—
- (I) request the contractor to provide the requested information; and
- (II) upon receiving such information, transmitting the information to the requesting individual in a timely manner.
(5) Timing
Except when the Administrator determines that an emergency exists under section 44709(e)(2) or 46105(c), the Administrator may not proceed against an individual that is the subject of an investigation described in paragraph (1) during the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the air traffic data required under paragraph (4) is made available to the individual.
(6) Response to Letter of Investigation
(A) In General — If an individual decides to respond to a Letter of Investigation described in paragraph (2)(B), such individual may respond not later than 30 days after receipt of such Letter, including providing written comments on the incident to the investigating office.
(B) Construction — Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to diminish the authority of the Administrator (as of the day before the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024) to take emergency action relating to an airman certificate.
(c) Amendments to Title 49
49 U.S.C. 44703
(1) Airman Certificates
Section 44703(d)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking "but is bound by all validly adopted interpretations of laws and regulations the Administrator carries out unless the Board finds an interpretation is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according to law".
(2) Amendments, Modifications, Suspensions, and Revocations of Certificates
49 U.S.C. 44709
Section 44709(d)(3) of such title is amended by striking "but is bound by all validly adopted interpretations of laws and regulations the Administrator carries out and of written agency policy guidance available to the public related to sanctions to be imposed under this section unless the Board finds an interpretation is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according to law".
(3) Revocation of Airman Certificates for Controlled Substance Violations
49 U.S.C. 44710
Section 44710(d)(1) of such title is amended by striking "but shall be bound by all validly adopted interpretations of laws and regulations the Administrator carries out and of written agency policy guidance available to the public related to sanctions to be imposed under this section unless the Board finds an interpretation is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not according to law".
(d) Appeal from Certificate Actions
(1) In General
Upon a decision by the National Transportation Safety Board upholding an order or a final decision by the Administrator denying an airman certificate under section 44703(d) of title 49, United States Code, or imposing a punitive civil action or an emergency order of revocation under subsections (d) and (e) of section 44709 of such title, an individual substantially affected by an order of the Board may, at the individual's election, file an appeal in the United States district court in which the individual resides or in which the action in question occurred, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. If the individual substantially affected by an order of the Board elects not to file an appeal in a United States district court, the individual may file an appeal in an appropriate United States court of appeals.
(2) Emergency Order Pending Judicial Review
Subsequent to a decision by the Board to uphold an Administrator's emergency order under section 44709(e)(2) of title 49, United States Code, and absent a stay of the enforcement of that order by the Board, the emergency order of amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of a certificate shall remain in effect, pending the exhaustion of an appeal to a Federal district court as provided in this Act.
(e) Standard of Review
(1) In General
In an appeal filed under subsection (d) in a United States district court, the district court shall give full independent review of a denial, suspension, or revocation ordered by the Administrator, including substantive independent and expedited review of any decision by the Administrator to make such order effective immediately.
(2) Evidence
A United States district court's review under paragraph (1) shall include in evidence any record of the proceeding before the Administrator and any record of the proceeding before the National Transportation Safety Board, including hearing testimony, transcripts, exhibits, decisions, and briefs submitted by the parties.
(f) Release of Investigative Reports
(1) In General
(A) Emergency Orders
In any proceeding conducted under part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to the amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of an airman certificate, in which the Administrator issues an emergency order under subsections (d) and (e) of section 44709, section 44710, or section 46105(c) of title 49, United States Code, or another order that takes effect immediately, the Administrator shall provide, upon request, to the individual holding the airman certificate the releasable portion of the investigative report at the time the Administrator issues the order. If the complete Report of Investigation is not available at the time of the request, the Administrator shall issue all portions of the report that are available at the time and shall provide the full report not later than 5 days after its completion.
(B) Other Orders
In any nonemergency proceeding conducted under part 821 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to the amendment, modification, suspension, or revocation of an airman certificate, in which the Administrator notifies the certificate holder of a proposed certificate action under subsections (b) and (c) of section 44709 or section 44710 of title 49, United States Code, the Administrator shall, upon the written request of the covered certificate holder and at any time after that notification, provide to the covered certificate holder the releasable portion of the investigative report.
(2) Motion for Dismissal
If the Administrator does not provide the releasable portions of the investigative report to the individual holding the airman certificate subject to the proceeding referred to in paragraph (1) by the time required by that paragraph, the individual may move to dismiss the complaint of the Administrator or for other relief and, unless the Administrator establishes good cause for the failure to provide the investigative report or for a lack of timeliness, the administrative law judge shall order such relief as the judge considers appropriate.
(3) Releasable Portion of Investigative Report
For purposes of paragraph (1), the releasable portion of an investigative report is all information in the report, except for the following:
- (A) Information that is privileged.
- (B) Information that constitutes work product or reflects internal deliberative process.
- (C) Information that would disclose the identity of a confidential source.
- (D) Information the disclosure of which is prohibited by any other provision of law.
- (E) Information that is not relevant to the subject matter of the proceeding.
- (F) Information the Administrator can demonstrate is withheld for good cause.
- (G) Sensitive security information, as defined in section 15.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar ruling or regulation).
(4) Rule of Construction
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the Administrator from releasing to an individual subject to an investigation described in subsection (b)(1)—
- (A) information in addition to the information included in the releasable portion of the investigative report; or
- (B) a copy of the investigative report before the Administrator issues a complaint.
Section 3. Notices to Airmen
49 U.S.C. 44701 note
(a) In General
(1) Definition
In this section, the term "NOTAM" means Notices to Airmen.
(2) Improvements
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Fairness for Pilots Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall complete the implementation of a Notice to Airmen Improvement Program (in this section referred to as the "NOTAM Improvement Program")—
- (A) to improve the system of providing airmen with pertinent and timely information regarding the national airspace system;
- (B) to continue developing and modernizing the NOTAM repository, in a public central location, to maintain and archive all NOTAMs, including the original content and form of the notices, the original date of publication, and any amendments to such notices with the date of each amendment, in a manner that is Internet-accessible, machine-readable, and searchable;
- (C) to apply filters so that pilots can prioritize critical flight safety information from other airspace system information; and
- (D) to specify the times during which temporary flight restrictions are in effect and the duration of a designation of special use airspace in a specific area.
(b) Goals of Program
The goals of the NOTAM Improvement Program are—
- (1) to decrease the overwhelming volume of NOTAMs an airman receives when retrieving airman information prior to a flight in the national airspace system;
- (2) make the NOTAMs more specific and relevant to the airman's route and in a format that is more useable to the airman;
- (3) to provide a full set of NOTAM results in addition to specific information requested by airmen;
- (4) to provide a document that is easily searchable; and
- (5) to provide a filtering mechanism similar to that provided by the Department of Defense Notices to Airmen.
(c) Advice from Private Sector Groups
The Administrator shall establish a NOTAM Improvement Panel, which shall be comprised of representatives of relevant nonprofit and not-for-profit general aviation pilot groups, to advise the Administrator in carrying out the goals of the NOTAM Improvement Program under this section.
(d) Designation of Repository as Sole Source for NOTAMs
(1) In General
The Administrator—
- (A) shall consider the repository for NOTAMs under subsection (a)(2)(B) to be the sole location for airmen to check for NOTAMs; and
- (B) may not consider a NOTAM to be announced or published until the NOTAM is included in the repository for NOTAMs under subsection (a)(2)(B).
(2) Prohibition on Taking Action for Violations of NOTAMs Not in Repository
(A) In General
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), beginning on the date that the repository under subsection (a)(2)(B) is final and published, the Administrator may not take any enforcement action against an airman for a violation of a NOTAM during a flight if—
- (i) that NOTAM is not available through the repository before the commencement of the flight; and
- (ii) that NOTAM is not reasonably accessible and identifiable to the airman.
(B) Exception for National Security
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the case of an enforcement action for a violation of a NOTAM that directly relates to national security.
Section 4. Medical Certification
49 U.S.C. 44703 note
(a) Assessment
(1) In General
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall initiate an assessment of the Federal Aviation Administration's medical certification process and the associated medical standards and forms.
(2) Report
The Comptroller General shall submit a report to Congress based on the assessment required under paragraph (1) that examines—
- (A) revisions to the medical application form that would provide greater clarity and guidance to applicants;
- (B) the alignment of medical qualification policies with present-day qualified medical judgment and practices, as applied to an individual's medically relevant circumstances; and
- (C) steps that could be taken to promote the public's understanding of the medical requirements that determine an airman's medical certificate eligibility.
(b) Goals of the Federal Aviation Administration's Medical Certification Process
The goals of the Federal Aviation Administration's medical certification process are—
- (1) to provide questions in the medical application form that—
- (A) are appropriate without being overly broad;
- (B) are subject to a minimum amount of misinterpretation and mistaken responses;
- (C) allow for consistent treatment and responses during the medical application process; and
- (D) avoid unnecessary allegations that an individual has intentionally falsified answers on the form;
- (2) to provide questions that elicit information that is relevant to making a determination of an individual's medical qualifications within the standards identified in the Administrator's regulations;
- (3) to give medical standards greater meaning by ensuring the information requested aligns with present-day medical judgment and practices; and
- (4) to ensure that—
- (A) the application of such medical standards provides an appropriate and fair evaluation of an individual's qualifications; and
- (B) the individual understands the basis for determining medical qualifications.
(c) Advice from Private Sector Groups
The Administrator shall establish a panel, which shall be comprised of representatives of relevant nonprofit and not-for-profit general aviation pilot groups, aviation medical examiners, and other qualified medical experts, to advise the Administrator in carrying out the goals of the assessment required under this section.
(d) Federal Aviation Administration Response
Not later than 1 year after the issuance of the report by the Comptroller General pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall take appropriate actions to respond to such report.
Section 5. Reexamination of an Airman Certificate
49 U.S.C. 44703 note
(a) In General
The Administrator shall provide timely, written notification to an individual subject to a reexamination of an airman certificate issued under chapter 447 of title 49, United States Code.
(b) Information Required
In providing notification under subsection (a), the Administrator shall inform the individual—
- (1) of the nature of the reexamination and the specific activity on which the reexamination is necessitated;
- (2) that the reexamination shall occur within 1 year from the date of the notice provided by the Administrator, however, if the reexamination is not conducted within 30 days, the Administrator may restrict passenger carrying operations;
- (3) that if such reexamination is not conducted after 1 year from date of notice, the airman certificate of the individual may be suspended or revoked; and
- (4) when, as determined by the Administrator, an oral or written response to the notification from the Administrator is not required.
(c) Exception
Nothing in this section prohibits the Administrator from reexamining a certificate holder if the Administrator has reasonable grounds—
- (1) to establish that an airman may not be qualified to exercise the privileges of a certificate or rating based upon an act or omission committed by the airman while exercising such privileges or performing ancillary duties associated with the exercise of such privileges; or
- (2) to demonstrate that the airman obtained such a certificate or rating through fraudulent means or through an examination that was inadequate to establish the qualifications of an airman.
(d) Standard of Review
An order issued by the Administrator to amend, modify, suspend, or revoke an airman certificate after reexamination of the airman is subject to the standard of review provided for under section 2 of this Act.
Historical Perspective. On Aug 3, 2012, President Obama signed the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (PBR) to help insure that pilots are treated fairly when facing certification enforcement actions. A year later (Sep 30, 2013) the NTSB modified it's Rules of Practice which should help implement the spirit of this airman protection. Being relatively new, legal precedent is limited. It is unclear how a dispute might play out in the courts, but the original legislation is spelled out above in Public Law 112-153. The statue specifies that an individual who is the subject of an investigation relating to the approval, denial, suspension, modification or revocation of his/her airman certificate under chapter 447, of title 49, of the United States Code is entitled to obtain government data that would facilitate their ability to productively participate in a proceeding (ie, defend themselves in the investigation). This basically grants pilots, or their attorneys, access to evidence as they prepare their position. By analogy, this protection extends to MedXPress data.
The MedXPress is a government computer system which streamlines the process of gathering medical history and filling out the medical application in advance of the visit with the AME for a flight physical. FAA systems, including all related equipment, networks, and network devices (specifically including Internet access) are provided for the processing of official U.S. Government information. As such MedXPress and their contractors operate as an arm of the FAA. By contrast, your designated AME remains a high level user with delegated authorities. The AME is not an FAA employee and does not have blanket access to every aspect of the FAA medical database. You (the applicant) essentially will grant your AME limited access to your MedXPress entries when you provide them your unique and time limited confirmation number from the summary sheet provided to you by MedXPress software at the time of final submission of your 8500-8 (Medical Application).
Because the PBR requires the FAA to provide any evidence being used against an airman as the basis of any enforcement at least 30 days in advance of action, there may be cases when data will be needed to help defend a legal action, though this is unlikely for preliminary MedXPress data. By contrast, if the investigation involves an operational incident involving ATC, the PBR mandates that airman be granted access to air traffic data whether the data is stored by a government contractor (control towers, flight service stations) or actual US Government computers (such as MedXPress). The protective clauses specifies that any person (i.e., the airman being investigated) who needs such government data must send their request(s) to the FAA. For typical aviation incidents involving air data with or without a medically aggravating factor, the request must list the date and the facility at which such air traffic data are located. Sometimes air traffic data is only stored for 5-45 days, so all requests should be expeditious.
The principle of non-repudiation is an attempt to guarantee that the airman applicant cannot later deny having entered a specific piece of medical data. In the past this was done by multi-part forms in the AME office which were signed by the applicant. Now the digital signature serves the same purpose. Once submitted, an Airman can not easily retract entries made through MedXPress. We provide a overview area and practice form, but airman must try to be accurate and understand medico-legal ramifications. Don't be evasive. We all make errors, if you make a mistake on the real form 8500-8 don't panic. It will be seen by the AME when you go for your flight physical, but you can make honest corrections through the AME at that time. Your original statements may be electronically adjusted by the AME depending on the plausibility of your explanation for the error.
MedXPress works like most online databases. As you proceed to fill out your history on MedXPress, you can save your work and revise it periodically until you have reviewed and completed the form. At this point you must submit, the data and your entries are no longer modifiable. If you need to revise an entry you made on the 8500-8 after you have already hit the submit button, we recommend that you contact your AME or the Regional Flight Surgeon to correct any problems. Otherwise, if you wait 60 days, the data is reportedly deleted from the system. If you need to access pre-AME, post-Submit data ("gray-zone data"), you are probably out of luck, so make sure you review your entries carefully before clicking "submit". After the AME-applicant review and flight physical exam is completed at the AME office, the medical data is then transferred out of the gray-zone and stored persistently at the FAA. At this point, normal PBR access protections go into effect (potentially incriminating data is available to any defendants).
Persistence rules are especially important for medical data. MedXPress entires are meant to be preliminary, so medical application histories are explicitly only saved for 60 days per the FAA's statements. If your online application is not authenticated by an AME within 2 months, the data is subject to deletion; therefore, the FAA has no duty to maintain an archive of this data. It is unlikely that preliminary entries would come back to haunt you after the 60 day period has elapsed. We refer to these unreviewed entries as gray-zone entries. Pilot applicants should reasonably expect that unreviewed 8500-8 will be unlikely to form the basis of an administrative or criminal action against you, but if these entries were the basis of negative allegations, the protective intent of the PBR is to grant you access to gray-zone data. If you are in this situation, recall that the MedXPress help desk is not obligated or authorized to answer questions related to medical entries on the Form 8500-8. Seek advice from your AME instead.
Sometimes an FAA investigation requires reconstruction of aviation incidents (missed ATC instructions, etc). These may or may not involve medical circumstances. When requesting relevant air traffic data, the FAA advises that the airman should provide the following information:
- Name and your airman certificate number;
- Other relevant information (aircraft heading, altitude, call sign, transponder code, etc.) that will help the contractor locate relevant data;
- Name/location of the contractor facility that you believe has air traffic data;
- Date and local time of day when such data relevant to the your flight operation were generated;
- Name of the FAA inspector, investigator or other FAA official (e.g., an air traffic controller who advises you about a possible pilot deviation) who notified you that you are under investigation;
- Your (airman being investigated) phone number or email
The medical part of the investigation is usually more straightforward since record identification and retrieval will be trivial. Non-persistent cookies are used to help store your data locally, and pseudo-SSN's can be assigned to applicants refusing to disclose their actual Social Security Numbers, but the main point is that the data is only retained for a maximum of 60 days between applicant submission and AME review. Finally, once you save your data through MedXPress, you will be assigned a confirmation number. Don't loose it (you will need it when visiting the AME). If you do loose your confirmation number, and you need your data retrieved as part of an investigation, the data may still be retrievable by other means but this is not guaranteed by the FAA.
Conclusion: The FAA and AME are not interested in entering an adversarial relationship with pilot advocates. The legal goals of the medical certification process include public safety, but to the surprise of many, the Public Law also specifies a goal of avoiding unnecessary allegations that an individual has intentionally falsified answers on the form. Your job is to review your entries carefully before clicking submit, but the FAA is not interested in making pilots feel like criminals. If you believe there are errors or problems after hitting the submit button, remember you will have another opportunity to discuss these issues with your chosen AME before your Aviation Medical Certificate is granted or rejected at the AME office. During the office visit, your AME will make comments and modify your form 8500-8 medical history entries where deemed appropriate. At the conclusion of the flight physical visit, the AME will issue, deny or defer your medical certificate, and only at that time, do your entries become permanent. After that you must retrieve records from Oklahoma City (FAA AMCD HQ) if you need access to your own medical records for any reason.
Public Law 112–153
As Amended Through P.L. 118–63, Enacted May 16, 2024