Senator tries to relax medical rules for private pilots

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican senator is trying to relax the medical requirements for private pilots who fly small planes, drawing complaints from Democrats who say is he is going back on a compromise that became law only two months ago.

Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, an avid, 81-year-old pilot who has had a quadruple heart bypass, is trying to eliminate a requirement that pilots have a statement from their doctor saying that they don't have a medical condition that would interfere with their ability to safely operate a plane.

Inhofe, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has proposed the change as part of House and Senate negotiations on a major defense bill, according to congressional aides familiar with the discussions.

[...] eliminating even the "moderate safety precaution" of having the doctor sign a statement that the pilot is fit to fly "would leave pilots with the exclusive responsibility for coming to a medical judgment about their own fitness to fly, which we believe would represent an unacceptable risk to the safety of our airspace," Democratic Sens.