The FAA should support the general aviation community in three key areas — third-class medical reform, aircraft certification, and the ADS-B Out mandate — AOPA President Mark Baker told a congressional committee on Tuesday. “We need the FAA to embrace a system that can keep up with rapidly changing technology; that is comfortable with timely, economical, and incremental safety improvements; and that will actually work to reduce risk today for hundreds of thousands of GA pilots,” Baker said. “When pilots, industry, and the FAA work together we see positive results for general aviation.” The FAA reauthorization hearing addressed issues in modernizing and operating the nation’s airspace.
Lee Moak, president of ALPA, and Paul Rinaldi, president of NATCA, also spoke at the hearing. Rinaldi told the panel that the FAA’s unstable and unpredictable funding continues to affect controllers, and added that continued sequestration cuts put rural towers at serious risk. “While NATCA sees many other problems and challenges for the FAA, we believe that funding is the primary issue to be addressed with the utmost urgency,” Rinaldi said. Moak also emphasized that funding is key to ensure a safe and efficient aviation system. “We urge Congress to work with industry to develop an appropriate NextGen airspace management system funding mechanism,” he told the committee.
