Inhofe's 'Pilot's Bill of Rights' passes U.S. House
July 24-- U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, as he often does, seems to have gotten in the last word in his tiff with the Federal Aviation Administration over an incident in Texas nearly two years ago.
By a voice vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Inhofe's Pilot's Bill of Rights on Monday afternoon.
Barring a veto, which appears unlikely despite Inhofe's less than chummy relationship with President Barack Obama, the measure may become law in time for Saturday's big Oshkosh, Wis., air show.
The primary effect of Inhofe's bill would be to give pilots the right to appeal National Transportation Safety Board decisions to federal district court.
It also directs the FAA to improve the distribution of warnings and announcements known as Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMs, and to standardize reinstatement procedures for pilot's licenses that were suspended for medical reasons.
The measure stems from an October 2010 incident in which Inhofe was cited for landing on a closed runway at a south Texas airport.
Inhofe insisted that he had been cleared to land on the runway, part of which was under construction, and that no notice -- or NOTAM -- of the closing had been issued.
Inhofe subsequently was required to execute emergency maneuvers to the satisfaction of a licensed instructor.
"I had a feeling that if something like that could happen to me, it could happen to other people," he said by telephone after Monday's vote.
"I had to take on three bureaucracies, and the secretary of transportation, Ray LaHood, tried to kill it in the Senate."
Inhofe said he persuaded an old colleague, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, to forgo a committee hearing on the bill so it could go directly to the House floor. He said he wanted a vote on the bill before Saturday's air show.
"We'll have a big celebration Saturday night in Oshkosh," he said. "It will be my 33rd year to attend. We'll have the biggest tent at the show."
Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365
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