Defense Spending Bill Set To Repeal FAA LODA Policy for Flight Training in Experimental Aircraft

Language in the bill eliminates the requirement for pilots and instructors.

Friday, December 16, 2022 at 08:57 AM ET

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A wide range of warbird operators are granted a reprieve by the language added to the NDAA passed on Thursday. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

Key Takeaways:

Congress has passed a defense authorization bill that eliminates the FAA's controversial Letter of Deviation Authority (LODA) requirement for flight training in experimental category aircraft.
The LODA policy, implemented in July 2021, had been denounced by pilot groups as onerous and an abrupt reversal of regulatory precedent, stemming from an FAA interpretation of "compensation or hire" that threatened flight instruction.
This legislative action, now heading to the President, provides a reprieve for pilots and instructors, and is being lauded by organizations like AOPA and EAA as a critical first step to restore traditional flight training practices under specific conditions.

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The latest defense authorization bill passed Thursday night offers a reprieve for pilots and flight instructors currently forced to obtain a letter of deviation authority, known as a LODA, before flight training in an experimental category aircraft.

The development is being lauded by pilot groups who have denounced the FAA policy of requiring LODAs for certain aircraft owners and flight instructors as onerous, confusing, and an abrupt reversal of decades of regulatory precedent.