What is BasicMed?
When the 114th United States Congress extended the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) funding through the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (FESSA), it mandated that the FAA issue or revise regulations to ensure that individuals may act as pilot in command (PIC) of certain covered aircraft without holding an FAA medical certificate, under specific conditions. The FAA responded, in part, by enacting several regulations, including 14 CFR § 61.113(i) and 14 CFR Part 68, known as BasicMed. Under BasicMed, “[a] private pilot may act as pilot in command or serve as a required flightcrew member of an aircraft without holding a medical certificate,” provided the pilot holds a valid U.S. driver's license, meets certain regulatory requirements, and complies with particular conditions and limitations.
Who Can Fly Under BasicMed?
To be eligible to fly under BasicMed, pilots must meet several requirements. First pilots must hold valid U.S. driver’s license and comply with any medical requirements or restrictions, such as a corrective lenses restriction. Pilots must also complete one of two free, online medical education courses, which can both be found linked on the FAA’s BasicMed webpage. Additionally, pilots must receive a medical examination from a State-licensed physician and complete the associated Comprehensive Medical Examination Checklist (CMEC). Finally, if a pilot has ever been diagnosed with “any medical condition that may impact the ability of the individual to fly,” then the pilot must be under the care of a State-licensed physician for the condition(s).
Moreover, eligibility requires a pilot to have held an FAA medical certificate at some time after July 14, 2006. The important date on that expired medical certificate, therefore, is the expiration date, not the date of the physical exam or issuance. It is also worth noting that the pilot’s most recent application for airman medical certification cannot have been completed and denied. And while the pilot’s medical certificate may have been issued under an Authorization for Special Issuance (SI), the SI and the medical certificate cannot have been suspended, withdrawn, or revoked.
Airmen holding an SI and planning to transition to BasicMed must take special care to ensure their Authorization and medical certificate both expire naturally. Authorizations for Special Issuance often have expiration dates far beyond the natural expiration date of the medical certificates that are, often repeatedly, issued by Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs) under those Authorizations. Generally, the FAA does not accept voluntary surrenders of either airman medical certificates or Authorizations for Special Issuance so there is no way to expedite the natural expiration of an FAA airman medical certificate or SI. Enforcement action against an airman’s SI due to non-compliance following the expiration of their medical certificate is not certain, but withdrawal is possible. Consequently, airmen intending to fly under BasicMed should comply with any SI terms for the duration of that Authorization, regardless of when their FAA medical certificate expires.
Aircraft & Operating Requirements
Once a pilot determines they meet the regulatory requirements and they choose to fly under BasicMed, the pilot must ensure their aircraft and operations comply with the conditions and limitations of the regulation. The first set of conditions and limitations concerns the aircraft itself. To fly under BasicMed, the aircraft must:
- Be authorized to carry no more than 7 occupants
- Have a maximum takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less
- Not be a transport category rotorcraft certified under Part 29
The next set of conditions and limitations goes to each flight operated under BasicMed, which must not be carried out:
- With more than 6 passengers on board
- At an altitude more than 18,000 feet above mean sea level (MSL)
- At an indicated airspeed (IAS) more than 250 knots
- Outside the U.S., Mexico, or other jurisdictions that recognize BasicMed unless specifically authorized
- For compensation or hire
Finally, the pilot must have available in their logbook both the completed CMEC and the certificate of completion from either of the two BasicMed online medical education courses.
On May 16, 2024, BasicMed was expanded via the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (the Reauthorization Act). Most significantly, the Reauthorization Act broadened the definition of “covered aircraft” to increase the number of allowable passengers from five to six, the number of authorized occupants from six to seven, and the maximum takeoff weight from 6,000 pounds to 12,500 pounds. The Reauthorization Act also allows qualified designated medical examiners to administer practical tests or proficiency checks under BasicMed. The update marked a significant step for BasicMed as it brought several popular aircraft into the fold, such as the Cessna Citation Mustang, several Daher TBM models, and the Cirrus Vision SF50 (Vision Jet).
Safety
While pilots operating under BasicMed are not required to hold an FAA medical certificate and consequently enjoy lesser privileges and are subject to more limitations during their operations, that does not mean airmen operating under BasicMed are any less safe than their third-class counterparts. In fact, as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association pointed out in November 2024, the expansion of BasicMed came about only after a positive safety review conducted by the FAA to analyze risk among BasicMed and third-class airmen revealed no difference between the two groups in the risk of having an aviation accident since the implementation of BasicMed in 2017. BasicMed has proven so successful and safe since its implementation that stakeholders are calling for further expansion to remove the altitude and airspeed limitations during operations.
Sport Pilot Certification
For individuals who have never held an FAA airman medical certificate and do not want to go through the FAA medical certification process for whatever reason, there is the sport pilot certificate. The medical requirements for a sport pilot are far less stringent, merely requiring that the pilot hold a valid U.S. driver’s license. Sport pilots also must not know or have reason to know of any medical condition that would make them unable to operate the lightsport aircraft safely, which is a mandate similar to those imposed upon pilots operating under BasicMed and FAA medical certificates alike. Further, a sport pilot using their U.S. driver’s license to meet the regulatory requirements who previously held or applied for an FAA medical certificate must not have had their most recent certificate or application suspended, revoked, or denied.
Light-sport aircraft (LSA) are considered simple to operate and easy to fly, but pilots must still obtain sufficient knowledge and experience before applying for a sport pilot certificate. Sport pilots must pass both a knowledge and practical test on the applicable areas of aeronautical knowledge and operation to earn their sport pilot certificate, each of which requires a logbook endorsement from an authorized instructor certifying the pilot’s preparation prior to examination. The operating limitations under a sport pilot certificate include, among many others, a restriction on operating at night, while carrying more than one passenger, and for compensation or hire, though the pilot may split operating expenses with a passenger provided the pilot pays for at least half of the expenses of the flight. With regard to the aircraft itself, LSA must be powered by a single, reciprocating engine if powered, weigh less than 1,320 pounds (1,430 for a seaplane), have a maximum stall speed of 45 knots, a cruising speed no greater than 120 knots, a non-pressurized cabin, no more than two seats, a fixed or ground adjustable propeller, and fixed landing gear (except for seaplanes and gliders). While LSA themselves may be relatively simple to operate, compliance with the regulations surrounding certification and operation as a sport pilot requires extensive knowledge of complex regulations.
Modernization Of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC)
The FAA noted that sport pilots operating LSA have demonstrated a successful safety record compared to experimental amateur-built airplanes since the final rule addressing the certification of airmen and aircraft for the operation of LSA was published in 2004. Accordingly, the FAA has been working toward expansion and modernization of regulations concerning sport pilot certification and operation to better meet the needs of both the FAA and the general aviation community for over a decade. On July 24, 2023, in a major step toward that goal, the FAA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register entitled, “Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification,” better known as “MOSAIC.” The comment period for that proposed rule was extended into 2024 but has long closed, and a final rule is expected sometime in early-mid 2025. Among the proposed changes to the current sport pilot regulations are an increased number of seats, increased stall speed, increased maximum takeoff weight, increased maximum speed, reduced limitations on engines, propellers, gear, and other aircraft components. No matter the changes that ultimately appear in the final MOSAIC rule, sport pilots and those considering a sport pilot certificate can look forward to a new set of regulations to study soon enough.
If you have any questions about BasicMed, sport pilot certification, MOSAIC, or the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) more broadly, please reach out to an aviation attorney.
