Legal Briefing

Understanding the Pilot Records Improvement Act

Let's review a legal issue that will affect any of you who are seeking a piloting job with a charter company or a commercial airline. The issue involves an understanding about what type of information the law requires your potential employer to find out about you before allowing you to be employed with that company to fly an airplane in air transportation.

The law that I am referring to has been in effect since 1997. It was enacted following a series of crashes between 1987 and 1994 of commercial airliners involving pilots who appeared to have had a history of deficient piloting performance that was not known to the airlines. Congress was concerned that employers were not conducting preemployment background checks on pilots to make an informed and safe decision about the qualifications of a particular applicant.

It was discovered that the primary reason for not doing the checks stemmed from liability concerns over obtaining and providing negative information about a person to someone else. So, Congress responded to resolve those concerns by enacting the Pilot Records Improvement Act (PRIA). This law requires the request, release, and receipt of information between pilot employers, and it protects the employers from legal actions when the information is shared and used to make a hiring decision.

In its simplest form, the law obligates a potential employer to request and receive records pertaining to an applicant's flying and driving records, and it obligates previous aviation employers to provide the information upon receiving the request.

The law is now codified in the FAA's statute in the section relating to airmen certificates. Before an airman can begin service as a pilot, the hiring "air carrier" is required to request and receive information from the FAA, any previous pilot employers for the past five years, and the National Driver Register. The law also requires that the pilot consent to the release of the information and be given the opportunity to review and correct any inaccuracies in the records.

The FAA is responsible for enforcing the law, and the agency has developed forms and guidance for FAA inspectors, employers, and pilots to help them better understand the scope and application of this law--and to help them comply with the its requirements. This information is available on the FAA's Web site.

The law specifically references three types of records.

FAA records. A potential employer of a pilot must obtain records from the FAA pertaining to the pilot's certificates and ratings, including the pilot's medical certificate and any limitations. The prospective employer also must request and receive the records of any FAA legal enforcement actions taken against the pilot that resulted in a finding of a violation.

Air carrier and other records. A potential employer must also contact previous pilot employers and obtain practically everything in a pilot's employment record except flight and duty-time data. Right now, if the previous employer was the United States Armed Forces, a reserve component, or the National Guard, those records need not be requested. And, the information to be requested, received, and furnished pertains to records within the previous five years. A record that was entered more than five years before the date of the application is not to be requested and is not to be released. In particular, the request must include:

• Records of training, qualifications, proficiency, and professional competence, specifically including comments and evaluations of check airmen;
• Any disciplinary action taken by the former employer that was not subsequently overturned;
• Any termination, resignation, physical or professional disqualification, or other release with respect to employment;
• The results of drug testing; and
• Records in the airline's alcohol misuse program.

National Driver Records. The information to be obtained from the National Driver Register (NDR) pertains to your driving history. The NDR is a central database of information concerning the motor vehicle operating records of individuals. It is maintained at the U.S. Department of Transportation. If this sounds familiar, it is because you provide consent to allow the FAA to access the NDR each time you sign on the FAA form for an airman medical certificate.

In next month's column, we'll look at PRIA's impact on pilots who are the subject of these information-gathering requirements, and your rights under the law.

Kathy Yodice is an attorney with Yodice Associates in Washington, D.C., which provides legal counsel to AOPA and administers AOPA's legal services plan. She is an instrument-rated private pilot.