Information Must Be Made Available To Pilots Under 'Pilot's Bill Of Rights'

The FAA has established a web page explaining to pilots who may be under investigation by the agency how they may obtain FAA contractor air traffic date related to that investigation.

The move was prompted by the recently-enacted Pilot's Bill Of Rights' (PBR), which states that 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, of the United States Code is entitled to obtain government contractor air traffic data that would facilitate that individual's ability to productively participate in a proceeding relating to that investigation. Under the PBR, the government contractor would be a person or entity that provides operational service to the FAA, including control towers and flight service stations.
 
The PBR specifies that the individual (i.e., the certificated airman who is the subject of an FAA investigation) seeking such government contractor data must send his or her request to the FAA. The request must describe the facility at which such contractor air traffic data are located and the request must identify the date on which such data were generated.

But, the FAA warns that depending on the type of data, it may be retained for as few as five days, and normally not more than 45 days, so the agency suggests that requests be be made "expeditiously" and that as much information as possible be provided to speed up the process. In a posting in the federal register, the FAA says that information should include such things about the aircraft operation as the local time of day, the heading of the aircraft, and its altitude will increase the chances that the appropriate data can be located, retrieved, preserved, and transmitted in accordance with the requirements of the Pilot's Bill of Rights.

FMI: www.faa.gov/pilots/rights/ Federal Register Notice