INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATES ARE AN EXCEPTION
June 25, 2020
Pilot medical certificates expiring between April 30 and September 30, 2020, will now have a three-month extension after their expiration month, under an updated coronavirus-pandemic Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) the FAA will publish on June 29.
When does my medical expire ?
If the expiration date was March 31, the medical is valid until June 30.
If the expiration date was April 30, the medical is valid until July 31.
If the expiration date was May 31, the medical is valid until August 31.
If the expiration date is June 30, the medical is valid until September 30.
If the expiration date is July 31, the medical is valid until October 31.
If the expiration date is August 31, the medical is valid until November 30.
If the expiration date is September 30, the medical is valid until December 31.
Here’s how the new medical extensions will work: They do not give those pilots whose medicals originally expired in March any extra time beyond June 30. Pilots whose medicals would expire at month’s end of April, May, June, July, August, and September all can add three calendar months to their medical certificates’ validity, in all medical classes (not BasicMed).
The new SFAR makes clear that other than relief for medical certificate duration, “the relief in this final rule applies to a new population” of pilots “and does not extend the relief provided in the original” SFAR.
September is the new cutoff of eligibility for time extensions in the updated SFAR for flight reviews, instrument currency, remote pilot aeronautical knowledge recency, and pilot knowledge exams.
The applicability and operational conditions that limited pilots’ eligibility for some of the SFAR provisions, such as additional time to establish instrument proficiency, remain in force, with only the months of eligibility changing, said Christopher Cooper, AOPA director of regulatory affairs.
June 30 remains a hard deadline for some pilots who benefited from the original SFAR, such as flight instructors. Those whose certificates were to expire from March to May 2020 still have until June 30 to renew without having to take a practical test. June 30 remains the last date before expiration of those instructors’ certificates, Cooper said. (AOPA)
Published in www.midwestflyer.com June 26, 2020.
