Pilots Bill of Rights

In late 2010, experienced pilot and U.S. senator James Inhofe was issued a pilot violation by the FAA. Displeased with the violation process, he created and sponsored the Pilots Bill of Rights 1 and 2. The NTSB is supposed to be an impartial entity to which a pilot may appeal a certificate suspension or revocation. For decades, aviation attorneys have known this is not reality.

Fred Simonds

Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The Pilot's Bill of Rights (PBR) was enacted to significantly increase due process, transparency, and fairness for pilots and other certificate holders facing FAA enforcement actions.
The legislation overhauled FAA investigation procedures, requiring timely notification, access to relevant data, and specific charges, while imposing stricter evidence standards and limiting the FAA's investigative discretion.
The PBR strengthened the impartiality of NTSB reviews by granting judges more discretion and eliminating automatic deference to the FAA, and expanded pilots' appeal options to include local federal courts, alongside improving NOTAMs and medical certificate processes.

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In late 2010, experienced pilot and U.S. senator James Inhofe was issued a pilot violation by the FAA. Displeased with the violation process, he created and sponsored the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 1 and 2.

The NTSB is supposed to be an impartial entity to which a pilot may appeal a certificate suspension or revocation. For decades, aviation attorneys have known this is not reality. They have accused the FAA repeatedly of unfairness in both the investigation and prosecution of such cases. They also contended that the NTSB’s review of an FAA order almost always comes down on the FAA’s side. Years of such decisions are well-known in the aviation community and have rarely favored the pilot. That all changed for the better once the Pilot’s Bill of Rights became law.