General Aviation Medical Reform

1)  Currently, the GA push for medical reform is looking to remove the requirement needed to go in and renew a 3rd class medical certificate every 24 months (2 years) if a pilot is over 40 years old and every 60 months (5 years) if the pilot is under 40 years old. In the proposed reform, a pilot who has held a 3rd class medical certificate (including special issuance) over the past 10 years would not be required to go through the FAA medical certification process again (Tennyson 2015). This rule rule comes with some stipulations which are: the aircraft to be flown must be 6,000lbs or less, the pilot can only carry up to 5 passengers, the altitude flying must remain below 18,000ft, and the speed of the aircraft cannot exceed 250kts (Tennyson 2015). The need to apply and test for a 3rd class medical would only be required to those who are initially applying like a new student pilot, or those requiring a special issuance certificate or those who haven't held a current medical certificate for over 10 years since the legislation. Also, the proposed bill would require private pilots to undertake a free online "aeromedical factors" course once every two years as well as a visit to their physician once every four years (Bergqvist 2015). Although this trip to the physician seems like a similar concept to applying for a 3rd class medical the difference is that you don't have to report the outcome to the FAA, just simply make a note of the visit in your logbook and have the form that is required to be filled out in your logbook as well (Tennyson 2015a).

2) Currently the medical reform has been included in a "Pilot's Bill of Rights 2" which was introduced by Senator Jim Inhofe last February (Tennyson 2015). I'm guessing this makes the medical reform a "bill" so to say and it has been approved by the Senate and is currently in the process of getting through the House before it can be signed by the president.

3) An aspect of the medical reform that I would like to analyze is the form needed and the 4 year checkup required by pilots. One "for" on this topic is that it ensures the pilot is still medically sound to fly and with the exam being conducted with a personal physician there should be a relaxed comfort level so they pilot won't be afraid to reveal information. In the same aspect though, the personal physician could bypass certain tests they don't see necessary from their "medical judgement" and ok the pilot since they know them personally which could lead to a potential medical condition overlooked. Also, the fact that the medical conditions aren't required to be reported to the FAA unless specifically requested seems very discerning. This makes me believe that a pilot could potentially be unfit to fly due to some medical condition, but as long as they have the form signed and made a note in their logbook of the doctor visit, they technically are still able to fly without FAA intervention.

4) Personally I don't see the medical reform as being necessary. I think the requirement the FAA had in place where a pilot over 40 had to go for renewal every 2 years and every 5 years for a pilot under 40 was fine. I think this reform was instituted more for those older pilots so they can continue to fly as they age without having to go in for a medical certificate renewal. I also think the reform was put in place to aid in the growth of General Aviation by not requiring a renewal of the 3rd class medical unless you require a special issuance or are a new plot. The "10 years prior legislation" rule imposed in the medical reform seems excessive; for example, I would still be able to fly under this rule because I applied and received my first class medical certificate in 2011 so I would still be eligible to fly after this year (the 5 year mark) if I wanted to without needing ANY medical examination whatsoever. I understand from the GA's perspective how big of a reform this is for their aging members, but I just feel it could potentially lead to some medically unqualified pilots flying when they shouldn't be flying for the safety of other pilots in the air.

Works Cited

Tennyson, E. (2015, December 15). Full senate passes medical reform. In aopa.org.

Tennyson, E. (2015, December 9a). Third class medical reform FAQs. In aopa.org. Retrieved January 30, 2016.

Bergqvist, P. (2015, December 17). Senate passes third-class medical reform. In flyingmag.com.

Pilots and Depression

1) I'll never forget March 24, 2015. I was going for my (at the time) daily run on the treadmill at my local rec center and all of a sudden the TV news channel simultaneously project a large heading, "Commercial airliner crashes in French Alps". I knew right then there would be no survivors but I as I continued my run I observed the news as little details began to unfold about the recent tragedy. Germanwings flight 9525 was scheduled to depart Barcelona, Spain and land in Dusselfdorf, Germany on March 24, 2015. Unfortunately this flight did not make it to its final destination as the A320 was reported to be downed somewhere in the French Alps 30 minutes after takeoff. Although the official report is not available, the details that have been released in the Preliminary Report by the BEA and those that are found on publicly accessed websites indicate that the co-pilot of flight 9525 intentionally programmed the aircraft into a controlled descent into the mountains. In the BEA report, at 9h 30min 08s the pilot notified the co-pilot that he would be leaving the cockpit and asked the co-pilot to take over the controls (assumed the pilot left to use the lavatory) (BEA 2015). 45 seconds after the captain left the selected altitude of the A320 on the FCU (flight control unit) was changed from 38,000ft to 100ft and the autothrust setting was changed to "THR IDLE" mode (BEA 2015). Both of these setting changes along with a change to a "selected" speed management of 308kts further indicate that the crash was deliberate. Over the course of the next/ remaining 11 minutes of the flight there were multiple contacts to the cockpit from various centers/towers/other aircraft/ and military to declare the A320's altitude with no response to any of them (BEA 2015). At about 9h 34min until 9h 39min there were periodical knocks/yelling/and "violent blows" to the cockpit door because it was locked from the inside (captain was locked out after he left for the lavatory at 9h 30min) (BEA 2015). Andreas Lubitz was refused renewal of his 1st class medical on April 9, 2009 by the Lufthansa aeromedical centre due to depression and the taking of medication along with that diagnosis (BEA 2015). Considering he voluntarily suspended his flight training on November 5, 2008  due to medical reasons and the fact that his yearly renewal of his first class was suspended for 2009 due to depression, it is clear to see that his mental illness was documented. Lubitz was able to get his 1st class medical reinstated on July 28, 2009 but there was an endorsement on it stating, "note special conditions/restrictions of the waiver" and a limitation on his pilot license that included "specific regular medical examinations - contact the licensing issue authority" which required the AME to contact the license issuing authority before the medical evaluation to extend or renew his medical certificate (BEA 2015). Upon reading the Preliminary Report from the BEA it appears that Andreas Lubitz was screened and documented for his condition and had to undergo yearly medical evaluations when renewing his 1st class medical certificate. Now how the AME's conducted their evaluations is unknown but in a TIME article it is discussed how mental evaluations are tough to judge because they are more difficult to quantify and are based off of yes and no responses to questions (Park 2015).

2) Hauntingly enough there was a similar suspected suicide 2 years prior to this GermanWings incident on a LAM Mozambique flight near Bwabwata National Park in Namibia. Almost the same setup as well, except that the roles were changed (instead of the captain leaving to use the lav it was the co-pilot). In this incident, the captain locked the cockpit door after the co-pilot leaves and changed the altitude preselector from 38,000ft to 4,288ft then to 1,888ft, and finally down to 592ft (ASN 2013). He (the captain) then reengaged the autothrottle and set the throttle level to idle as he began to manually select the airspeed to increasing numbers over the course of the recording until it remained close to the Vmo speed (ASN 2013). The mental health of the pilot was in question due to the fact that his son had died about a year prior to the accident and over the course of several months prior to this flight he was experiencing marital problems (ASN 2013).

3) Currently the mental evaluation of commercial pilots is conducted once every 6 months for those over 40 years old and once every year for those under 40 (Park 2015). According to Alpo Vuorio, the examiner "tries to see if the pilot is well, and it's not the easiest thing" due to the response from the pilot being either "yes" or "no" and the fact that it is up to the pilot to delve further (Park 2015). Most pilots are afraid to admit or claim that they are depressed or have even had thoughts of suicide because any mental health  problem will likely take them out of the sky. I think the current screening could be handled better or at least have the psychological evaluation handled by a more appropriately trained individual. In the TIME article, Park talks about how medical examiners aren't always trained in mental health, which could lead to them not being able to properly recognize the subtle signs of mental deterioration like depression or alcoholism (Park 2015). I think some reform may be needed in the questions asked (make them more open ended) and the way the situation is handled once a pilot is deemed or self-reports that they suffer from psychological conditions. Make it less of a punishment and more of an encouragement to improve and have experts who can help talk it out and through rather than instantly prescribing an anti-depressant.

4) Having a more liberal approach to the idea of mental health treatment for pilots could prove to be disadvantageous though. I can imagine the reporting system being abused in the airline world if a pilot just doesn't want to fly that day or take that leg that they go and claim mental illness. Now I know this seems extreme but if the airline would continue pay (why wouldn't they) as the pilot undergoes treatment, what pilot wouldn't take the option to "fake" depression just to have a few paid weeks off? I see it being used like fatigue was being used when it initially became a condition that could exempt you from flying that day.

Works Cited

Rep. No. BEA-D-AIPX - 24 mars 2015 at 29 (2015).

Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile. Retrieved from: http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2015/d-px150324.en/pdf/d-px150324.en.pdf 

ASN Aircraft Accident Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW (ERJ-190AR) c9-EMC Bwabata National Park. (2013, November 29). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20131129-0 

Park, A., & Oaklander, M. (2015, March 26). How Pilots Are Screened for Depression and Suicide. Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://time.com/3760132/germanwings-plane-crash-pilot-suicide-andreas-lubitz/

ATC Privatization

1) Currently the ATC system used in America and in our airspace is one that relies heavily on radar equipment placed in the aircraft as well as around the airports and control towers through the land. This radar technology emits a radio wave that "pings" back to the original emitter once it is received by an aircraft or object. That "ping" has all kinds of information on it that the controller uses to interpret the aircraft's location, size and speed in the area. With that information, a controller guides the aircraft into the airport while avoiding other traffic or obstructions that could be hazardous to the aircraft using vectors for the aircraft to follow. Now in comparison to the proposed idea of NextGen, there are many differences. The first key difference would be that the NextGen technology uses global positioning systems (GPS) to track and guide aircraft. GPS can be thought of as a more accurate and quicker upgrade from the radar system ATC uses today. It starts with the satellites orbiting the Earth that continually broadcast their signal to identify their location; then once a GPS equipped device receives that satellite's signal it transmits it's (the device's) signal back to the satellite for a constant up-to-date positioning on it's location in reference to the satellite. With that constant up-to-date position, NextGen is able to (hypothetically) direct flights equipped with the proper broadcasting and GPS devices to destinations on a more direct route rather than the vectors and jet airways that get used currently under the radar technology.

2) The largest issue general aviation (GA) has with the privatization of ATC is the implementation of user fees. Since ATC would be privatized they would no longer receive funding or be part/considered in the government budget as they are now. The funding then would have to come from users of the ATC system which is anybody and everybody who flies. This kind of user fee puts those in GA at a disadvantage to airlines because airlines have that kind of revenue to pay for continual user fees where a GA pilot or operation may not. Since GA is so broad not all operations in GA generate revenue especially not to the extent of the airlines and these type of user fees could see a reduction in numbers for those who participant in general aviation. This leads to another issue that the GA fears may happen if privatization of ATC becomes a reality and that is that priority may occur with certain air traffic in the airspace, namely the airlines. Under federal ownership the ATC system guarantees equal access for all of its users (Wood 2015).  The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) believes that ATC privatization and the implementation of per-use fees for services could, "penalize the prudent practice of using ATC services like filing for IFR in marginal conditions or receiving VFR advisories" (Wood 2015). Groups like EAA and AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) are against privatization because they believe that the "current method of collecting revenues through a tax on aviation fuel is not broken" and that "any air traffic system must preserve GA access to airports and airspace on a first-come first-serve basis like we do today." (Wood 2015). Another organization called Airlines for America (A4A) has a different belief on the privatization of ATC. A4A believes that the transition is long overdue and that the radar system we use currently is severely outdated. On a conference call with fellow members and CEOs of major airlines, A4A found that, "separating air traffic control from the FAA would lead to a much more efficient and effective airline operation because and independent ATC organization would operate with long-term funding and governance certainty. The leader of the organization would be incentivized to pursue efficiencies without constraints imposed on government agencies that hamper their ability to operate nimbly and effectively." (Parker 2015).

3) Two countries I was able to find that have nonprofit, privatized ATC are Canada and the United Kingdom. In Canada the organization that controls the air traffic is called Nav Canada and they coordinate the air traffic from 7 area control centres (ACCs) throughout the country (http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/about-us/Pages/what-we-do-atc.aspx). From those 7 control centres, the Canadian airspace is broken up into sections between them and then get broken down further to sections where controllers can monitor the flow of air traffic. As for the way they are governed, NAV Canada has four groups that come to a consensus on the board of directors nominees: commercial air carriers, Government of Canada, business/general aviation, and employees. 4 directors are elected by commercial carriers, 1 by GA/business aviation, 3 from the Government of Canada, and 2 by the employee unions  (http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/about-us/Pages/governance.aspx). In regards to funding, NAV Canada receives its funding from charging airlines and other operators for air traffic control services (user fees). They receive their financing through publicly traded debt like bonds and notes. (http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/about-us/Pages/investor-relations.aspx). The company in the UK that operates the ATC is called NATS and only have two control centres unlike the 7 that are in place in Canada. NATS provide similar services with regards to air traffic control and guidance to aircraft operating within their airspace. The one difference I see from NATS to NAV Canada is that NATS has military air traffic controllers that work alongside them in the Swanwick centre and that they cover an area of the Northern Atlantic from 45 degrees to 61 degrees North latitude (http://www.nats.aero/about-us/what-we-do/our-control-centres/). An issue that NATS has experienced since taking over the air traffic in the UK area is the increase in delay times (5.5 sec in 2014 to 1.4 sec in 2013). There was also a large unexplained system failure in December of 2014 which lead to hundreds of delays and some 300 flight cancellations (http://www.nats.aero/about-us/operational-performance/). A failure of this caliber hasn't occurred since, but it leaves NATS with a questionable reputation and showed how things just don't operate when a system with that much oversight and no outside help goes down.

4) It appears that through the articles and links I have read that the process it would take to get our ATC system privatized comes from Congress. In multiple articles there is always a representative pushing for the pass of some privatization bill whether it be John Mica (R-Fla) or Bill Shuster (R-Pa). These representatives aim to get their legislation passed through the aviation subcommittee in the House and move it up from there (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/congress-considers-privatizing-the-air-traffic-control-system/2015/03/24/b63a38f4-d23d-11e4-8fce-3941fc548f1c_story.html). The final decision to allow ATC privatization lies on the decision of Congress not on the FAA.

5) I personally don't feel that the privatization of ATC is needed here in the US because we handle a lot more air traffic than the countries that are privatized. Could you imagine if a system failure occurred here like it did with NATS in the UK? Having the government regulate and fund our ATC system ensures that they receive funding and also that things are kept to the standard that the FAA institutes in all areas it oversees. The real issue here isn't the privatization but more so the way our government handles things like this matter that are needing change but never receive it. The bureaucracy that occurs in our government and the personal agendas that are being fulfilled behind closed doors or without public notice are the real issue here.

Works Cited

Call to action issued over ATC privatization. (2015, July 8). Retrieved January 16, 2016, from http://generalaviationnews.com/2015/07/08/call-to-action-issued-over-atc-privatization/

ICYMI: A4A National Media Call on the Need for Modernization and Reform of Nation's Air Traffic Control. (2015, Dec 8). Retrieved January 16, 2016, from http://airlines.org/news/icymi-a4a-national-media-call-on-the-need-for-modernization-and-reform-of-nations-air-traffic-control/

http://www.navcanada.ca/en/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.nats.aero/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/congress-considers-privatizing-the-air-traffic-control-system/2015/03/24/b63a38f4-d23d-11e4-8fce-3941fc548f1c_story.html

Personal Introduction

1. My interest in aviation started as a little kid when my mom would always take us on vacations due to her employment at Northwest Airlines. There's actually one memory from my childhood that I recall which sparked my interest in aviation and that was when my brother and I were allowed to go into the cockpit of an airplane (pre 9/11) and talk to the pilot's and wear their hat and sit in their seat. We were both super excited at the opportunity and my mom has a picture of us in her scrapbook. Junior year of high school was when I made the decision that I wanted to pursue aviation as a profession and began looking at colleges that offered flying. This lead me to Western Michigan University where I flew the Cirrus SR20 and logged 20+ hours of flight time. Upon transferring to Eastern I wanted to continue flying, but some complications arose with my medical and I didn't have the money or the time to wait out my medical so I switched my major to Aviation Management and began my current route pursuing an Aircraft Dispatcher certificate.

2. As mentioned, my major is Aviation Management Technology with a specialty in Aircraft Dispatch and a minor in General Business. My planned graduation is Fall 2016 so I'm right around the corner.

3. My future plans are to first pass my practical exam for aircraft dispatch then find a flight follower job or internship somwhere to practice aircraft dispatch. I've considered Kalitta Air or IFL Group since they are nearby but I am willing to go where I'm needed. The end game would be to work as a flight supervisor for Delta Air Lines and retire with them. Through adulthood and when my student loan debt isn't consuming my life, I would like to come back to flying and hopefully pursue my Private Pilot's certificate; so if any of my fellow pilots in this class end up becoming flight instructors let me know!