Scheduled my exam with the local office that performs DOT physicals. In and out in less than 20 minutes with the necessary forms signed. The doctor was surprisingly thorough in his exam, but had no problems putting his signature on it.
Does anyone know, is the FAA still sticking to its interpretation of the law, that Basic Med pilots cannot act as the required safety pilot when the PIC is under the hood?
What? where did that come from? If I am rated/qualified to fly that aircraft as pilot in command, then I am allowed to act as safety pilot. So where did this break down?
Apparently congress is full of bad lawyers. The bill they passed used the term ?PIC?. So the FAA, who of course was dragged into basic med kicking and screaming, sent out a memo saying basic med could only be used in lieu of an FAA medical when the pilot was also PIC. So if the PIC is under the hood, the safety pilot cannot be using basic med since he?s not PIC. It?s a crazy stance, of course. Yes, I could claim my safety pilot was the PIC, not me. But that would violate my insurance policy?s provisions, so I?m not sure I want to go down that route.
Well, this will probably re-open the "who can log PIC" conundrum again, but...
Can't a safety pilot log PIC as well as the pilot under the hood? Hasn't this been hashed out over decades?
It is possible, under certain situations, but that is not the issue here. It?s not who logs time, but who is THE PIC - the person responsible for the safe and legal operation of the aircraft. THE PIC is one, and only one, person. Here?s a reference: <faa.gov/news/safety_pilot/2017/Media/JulAug2017.pdf>.
see page 11.
That link didn't work for me, but here's one:
https://www.aopa.org/training-and-s...-cross-country-time/logging-time-safety-pilot
"Summary of logging PIC. Both pilots may log PIC time if the safety pilot is the acting pilot in command. FAR 61.51(e) allows both the sole manipulator of the controls and the acting PIC to log PIC time."
That link didn't work for me, but here's one:
https://www.aopa.org/training-and-s...-cross-country-time/logging-time-safety-pilot
"Summary of logging PIC. Both pilots may log PIC time if the safety pilot is the acting pilot in command. FAR 61.51(e) allows both the sole manipulator of the controls and the acting PIC to log PIC time."
As I pointed out in post 58, this is correct. But, my insurance policy explicitly states that only I will act as THE PIC in my airplane. I am very reluctant to nulify my insurance by allowing my safety pilot to claim that he was the PIC. So I am left with the fact that I cannot recruit a basic med pilot to act as safety pilot for me in my airplane (without invalidating my insurance, to say nothing of common sense).
Edit: The real solution is for the FAA to come off its indignation and use common sense. But I see this as unlikely. This wasn?t their idea so they will fight it, even to the point of nonsensical rulings.
That's an issue with your insurance, though...what does BasicMed have to do with it? A safety pilot with a Class III would be in the exact same position, no?
No, not at all. If I am under the hood and PIC, and have a safety pilot with a third class medical, everyone’s happy. If there’s an accident, insurance should be valid. FAA will be happy I obeyed their rules.
If I am under the hood and I had a Basic Med as a safety pilot, and there’s an accident: If I say I am PIC, insurance will pay but FAA may violate me for not having a proper safety pilot. If I say safety pilot was PIC then FAA is happy but insurance may decline to cover me.
Not at all the same.
I suspect most insurance policies have similar clauses. They expect the named insureds to be PIC.
I'm still missing why this has anything to do with BasicMed. Where did the FAA say someone with BasicMed can't act as PIC under the exact same rules as a pilot with a Class III?
See my post #60, now with the correct faa reference. What they said is a basic med pilot can ONLY act as PIC. He cannot act in any non-PIC capacity that requires a medical, e.g., a safety pilot must have a valid medical even if he is not the PIC, but a Basic Med is not valid for this. Absolutely makes no sense, pilot is okay to act as PIC but not non-PIC safety pilot. But this is the faa?s party line (apparently backed up by poor language in the congessional bill).
Safety Pilots.
You may not act as a safety pilot under BasicMed unless you also agree to act as the PIC. A safety pilot, by virtue of being a required crew
member, is required to hold a medical certificate. Because BasicMed only applies to pilots acting as PIC, a safety pilot who is not PIC must hold a valid
medical certificate, and may not operate under BasicMed. This also applies to flight instructors if they are providing instrument instruction to a pilot
who has agreed to act as PIC. The moment the pilot receiving instruction puts on a view-limiting device, the flight instructor has become the safety pilot, and must hold a valid medical certificate unless the flight instructor agrees to act as PIC.
This is the most confusing thing ever...from your link:
So I still this as primarily a problem with your insurance...they're not allowing *any* safety pilot, BasicMed OR Class III, to act as PIC while you're under the hood?
Basically, yes. The policy says I must be PIC, no one else.
Now if I ended up in court, I doubt anyone would believe me if I claimed that I really allowed someone with limited (or zero) time in type to really be the person responsible for the flight. The insurance would pay, my trouble would be with the FAA - especially since they are so opposed to Basic Med to come up with these bizzare rules in the first place.
This sounds like a misunderstanding of "being" PIC as sole manipulator of the controls, and "acting as" PIC by being a safety pilot.
With this restriction in place, you can *never* regain currency using your airplane if you ever lose it by not shooting enough approaches in the 6 month time period. Doesn't seem logical.
There?s no misinderstanding on my part. The part 61 logging rules have a variety of scenarios where someone can log ?PIC time? with, or without, actually being the PIC as defined in part 91. The part 61 logging rules allow a safety pilot to log ?PIC time? only if he is the part 91 PIC. If that is the case, then myself, flying under the hood, can also log ?PIC time? under part 61; but I am not the part 91 PIC, because the safety pilot is, and there is one and only one part 91 PIC - the person who is responsible, and the final authority, ... So if the safety pilot has a basic med, I can keep the FAA, or my insurance company, happy - but not both.
As to re-gaining currency: If I am not current, I cannot act as the part 91 PIC under ifr. However, I could fly under the hood in vfr, with a safety pilot with a class 3 medical, and re-gain currency. Or take an IPC, in vmc, with a cfi with a class 3 medical.
I had a great experience with my PCP ... he heard about the Basic Med program but hadn't been asked to perform the eval yet. "Sure, why not?" he said. I send him the AOPA Basic Med for physicians FAQ and all went well. Probably a better medical exam than the 3rd class from the AME. No peeing required!
Yeah, but did he sign off on your anus being flight-ready?It's on the checklist, after all! LOL!
That's only so the FAA knows they have a target to kick if you do something stupid!
When I showed up for my Basic Med appointment (the first one in this office), his Nurse Practitioner came in to perform the check-up. I asked if the Doc was going to sign the checklist? He replied that he signs the DOT documents all the time. I showed him the regs that state "State Licensed Physician". He reluctantly went to get the Doc. Anyone know if the FAA will accept a Nurse Practitioner on the checklist?
They do not.