Official FAA Notice Confirms Limited Coverage of COVID-19 SFAR

May 7, 2020 – As EAA reported last week, the FAA did not deliver relief to personal and recreational aviation that the general aviation community sought and anticipated in a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) addressing COVID-19’s impact on aviation, especially in the areas of expiring biennial flight reviews (BFR) and aircraft annual inspections.

A notice from the FAA Safety Team confirms EAA's disappointing legal interpretation that extension of flight review expirations are contingent on meeting all of a set of demanding requirements for pilot experience and limitations on the kinds of eligible operations. EAA was dismayed to see considerable restrictions on who could extend the expiration of their biennial flight review through June and the absence of relief for aircraft whose annual inspection has come due during the period of national lockdown in response to the pandemic.

There is considerable misinformation circulating in the aviation community concerning the extension of flight review expirations applying broadly, when in fact the SFAR was extremely restrictive as to who and under what type of operations BFRs can be extended.

EAA is exploring with the FAA what solutions might still be available for keeping airmen and aircraft in the air as the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions continue to one degree or another across the nation.