This Could Be BIG Trouble... AOPA Vows To Protect Pilots From
Additional Costs
AOPA tells us that the
General Accountability Office (GAO) has praised the way the FAA
monitors Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs) and proposed expanding
that system to monitor its other designee programs.
But how would the FAA pay for it? The GAO suggested that the
agency charge designees application and renewal fees. And that's
where AOPA draws the line.
"Ultimately, pilots would incur the cost of these recommended
fees. Pilot examiners and inspectors would increase their prices to
account for the added cost," said Andy Cebula, AOPA senior vice
president of Government and Technical Affairs. "Pilots already pay
for their portion of these aviation services through fuel tax. And
Congress just passed spending legislation that once again prohibits
new user fees, legislation that AOPA lobbied for."
Overall, the GAO report
released last week praised the FAA's use of designees for pilot and
aircraft certification. Some 90 percent of certification activities
are performed by these private individuals, allowing the FAA to
concentrate scarce resources on the most safety-critical
functions.
But the GAO faulted the agency for its oversight of designees,
with the exception of medical examiners. While the watchdog agency
didn't find any systemic safety failings with the designee system,
it wants the FAA to improve its management control.
As the model, the GAO cited the FAA Office of Aerospace
Medicine's database, which is used to monitor the performance of
AMEs and to supply FAA flight surgeons with data that include the
number of medical certificates issued by each AME, the number of
errors in each certificate, and the amount of time it takes to
transmit medical information.
However, it could cost up to $50 million to extend this model to
the FAA's flight standards and aircraft certification services. So
to prevent cutting funds to other FAA programs, such as safety
programs, the agency would need to come up with the money some
other way.
The GAO suggested charging an application and renewal fee to
designated pilot examiners, designated engineering representatives,
and other designees who perform certification services on behalf of
the FAA. That would help recover the cost of processing those
applications. But those fees undoubtedly would be passed on to
consumers.
AOPA believes there are
other ways to improve the current monitoring system and expand it
to additional FAA services without forcing pilots to bear the brunt
of the cost.
For example, even the program for monitoring AMEs could be
fine-tuned by utilizing AOPA's TurboMedical application — an
online interactive medical application that identifies potential
problems based on the answers selected. (Now pilots can complete
AOPA's TurboMedical online, but they must transfer the information
onto the FAA Form 8500-8 in the AME's office.)
If the FAA switched from its current paper form to the
electronic TurboMedical application, it could minimize the amount
of paperwork, reduce the number of errors and deferrals, and speed
the application processing time. This not only could free some of
the FAA's resources to be used toward the implementation of the
monitoring program in other areas, but it also could decrease the
amount of time it takes pilots to receive their medical if it is
deferred.
The GAO reasoned that the FAA could impose application and
renewal charges on commercial designees because the Federal Drug
Administration charges pharmaceutical companies an application fee
to cover the cost of reviewing new drugs, and the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection agency charges a fee to brokers who help move
merchandise through Customs.
Commercial designees
charge the public a fee, but they do not send a portion of that to
the FAA. FAA inspectors, engineers, and flight surgeons provide the
same services to the public for free as part of their government
employment.
The 2005 FAA appropriations bill prevents the FAA from charging
any new user fees, so if the FAA were to charge fees to designees,
it would need a change in the law — a move that AOPA would
fight.
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