Pilot’s Bill of Rights

In an extraordinary act, the FAA has promulgated an enforcement policy notice declaring that it will not take enforcement action against airmen whose medical certificates expire from March 31, 2020 through June 30, 2020.  This policy will remain in force and effect through June 30, 2020. There are two very important items to note in…

DOT drug testing is an unmitigated disaster.  The failures and abuses of DOT drug testing are being imposed on airmen who, if they cannot provide a sufficient quantity of urine, must confess to having a drug problem, even if they do not, if they want to fly.  Even though Congress has directed the Secretary of…

As certificated airmen, we hold these facts and conclusions that follow to be self-evident: An airman’s certificate is a property or liberty interest that cannot be suspended or revoked without affording the airman due process of law including notice and an opportunity for a hearing. See, e.g., White v. Franklin, 637 F.Supp. 601, 610-611 (N.D. Miss. 1986) (“In the present case, plaintiff’s license qualifies as a protectable property interest. ***In the present case, the defendants’ actions totally foreclosed the plaintiff’s opportunity to pursue his career as a flight examiner…As such, the plaintiff possessed a liberty interest requiring a Fifth Amendment due process hearing prior to deprivation.”), Tamura v. Federal Aviation

You will hear these conversations in hushed tones outside courtrooms or over lunch during a break, “Why did the judge make that ruling?”  “How can the FAA call expert witnesses that were undisclosed?”  It is no secret among legal practitioners who appear before the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB or Board) that litigation before the…

Drug testing is the bane of pilots and mechanics. According to 14 C.F.R. §120.107, “Each employer shall test each employee who performs a safety-sensitive function for evidence of Marijuana, Cocaine, Opiates, Phencyclidine (PCP), and Amphetamines during each test required by §120.109.” Drug testing of airmen is intrusive as the airman confronts a Sample Collector who…

The author's purpose in writing this article is to refine and expand our thoughts about the meaning of Section 2(b) of the Pilot's Bill of Rights, Pub. L. 112-153, August 3, 2012, 126 Stat. 1159 (hereinafter the "PBR").