Effective May 1, 2017, you may no longer need to hold an FAA third-class medical certificate to serve as pilot in command. The change results from FAA implementing a Congressional mandate enacted last year, which directed the agency to develop appropriate regulations to eliminate the third-class medical for specified flight operations. The image below, prepared by the FAA, highlights BasicMed’s major provisions.
A long time in coming, the policy came as a result of several factors, including 10-plus years of experience with the FAA’s sport pilot certification, which does not require a medical certificate, and implementing legislation introduced and pushed through Congress by U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.). Along the way, AOPA and EAA put substantial efforts behind the legislation, helping get it through both houses of Congress and to the President’s desk last year for signature. That’s the big print. And there’s plenty of fine print.
