FAA to require photos on pilot's licenses but not biometric identifiers

[The Straight Story]

FAA to require photos on pilot's licenses but not biometric identifiers

By Brian Kalish 11/19/2010

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed that all pilot certificates include a photo of the licensee, but one lawmaker wants to know why the passport-size cards will not include biometric identification five years after Congress passed a law requiring such unique identifiers.

On Nov. 18, FAA said in a news release that under the proposed rule, pilots would obtain new certificates on which their photograph would appear along with an expiration date currently proposed at eight years. At the end of that period, pilots would be required to update their photo and obtain a new certificate.

When the proposal is finalized, all new pilot certificates would include a photo and incumbent pilots would have three to five years to replace their existing license, which currently do not include personal photos, or biometric identifiers.

The 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, Public Law 108-458, mandated FAA by December 2005 to begin issuing improved pilot licenses that included a photograph of the licensee and were capable of accommodating a digital photograph, biometric identifier, "or any other unique identifier."

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20101119_3527.php?oref=rss

[howaboutme]

1. Good question

Remember all of the other stupid things that were disclosed by the media and 60 minute type shows that the FAA failed to do that lacked common sense because they were owned by the aviation industry.

We need a czar of common sense that takes public input and such questions and requires that agency heads of all government depts respond.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Oh

[cloudbase]

3. Some wag out at my flying club

told me that my certificate already had my picture on it. I think he was referring to Orville Wright.