Fourteen Days Have Passed.
The FAA Still Has Not Responded.
P4HR sends a formal follow-up after the response period on its meeting request to FAA aeromedical leadership expires without an acknowledgment, proposed meeting date, or substantive response.
Pilots for HIMS Reform has sent a formal follow-up to FAA Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup after the response period identified in P4HR’s July 29 meeting request expired without an acknowledgment, proposed meeting date, or substantive response.
The latest communication represents another step in an effort that has now stretched across more than a year.
A Meeting First Offered at Oshkosh
At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2025, Dr. Northrup publicly indicated a willingness to meet with Pilots for HIMS Reform.
P4HR took that invitation seriously.
We followed up. We requested a meeting. We offered flexibility. We remained professional.
But the meeting was never placed on the calendar.
The Question Was Asked Again in 2026
During the FAA Aeromedical Forum at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2026, P4HR Co-Founder Captain Mike Danford raised the issue publicly once again.
The question was remarkably simple:
Once again, P4HR was invited to pursue the discussion.
So we did.
On July 29, 2026, the three co-founders of Pilots for HIMS Reform signed and submitted a formal written request asking for a meeting with Dr. Northrup and the appropriate members of her aeromedical leadership team.
A Policy-Level Discussion — Not an Individual Case
The request was not directed toward resolving or arguing the merits of any single pilot’s medical certification case.
Instead, P4HR requested a policy-level discussion concerning recurring issues affecting pilots, air traffic controllers, Aviation Medical Examiners, medical professionals, and families throughout the aviation community.
- Transparency in aeromedical decision-making;
- Standards used to impose, continue, increase, reduce, or terminate HIMS monitoring;
- Objective and time-limited pathways to unrestricted medical certification;
- Written explanations for adverse or heightened monitoring decisions;
- Consistent treatment of medical evidence and professional recommendations;
- The roles, responsibilities, and accountability of HIMS Aviation Medical Examiners;
- Meaningful review and due-process protections; and
- Opportunities for policy, regulatory, and legislative reform.
The formal request also offered substantial flexibility. P4HR indicated that its representatives were willing to meet virtually or in person and would work with the FAA to identify a mutually workable time.
Importantly, the letter requested a written response identifying proposed meeting dates within 14 days.
The Response Period Has Expired
That 14-day period expired on August 12.
Today is August 16.
As of publication, P4HR has received no acknowledgment, no proposed meeting dates, and no substantive response to the July 29 formal request.
It is important to describe that accurately.
The FAA has not affirmatively stated that it refuses to meet with Pilots for HIMS Reform.
But the documented record now shows something important:
A public willingness to meet was expressed at Oshkosh in 2025.
P4HR spent the following year attempting to follow through.
The question was raised publicly again at Oshkosh in 2026.
P4HR was again invited to pursue the meeting.
A formal written request was submitted on July 29.
A reasonable response period was provided.
That period has now expired.
And there has still been no response.
P4HR Sends a Formal Follow-Up
The communication notes that the requested response period has expired and again asks the Federal Air Surgeon’s office to confirm receipt of P4HR’s request and provide proposed dates so the meeting can be placed on the calendar.
P4HR also reiterated that it remains prepared to meet virtually or in person and that its objective remains a professional, policy-level discussion regarding the aeromedical certification system and the HIMS Program.
We are not withdrawing the invitation.
We are not abandoning the effort.
And we are not going to pretend that silence somehow resolves the issues that prompted the request.
Why the Meeting Matters
P4HR has never suggested that FAA aeromedical leadership must agree with every position our organization advances.
Nor would we expect one meeting to resolve every disagreement surrounding the HIMS Program or the broader aeromedical certification system.
That is not the point.
Government agencies exercise extraordinary authority over the careers and livelihoods of aviation professionals. With that authority should come a willingness to hear directly from the people affected by those policies—particularly when an organization has repeatedly sought dialogue rather than confrontation.
Direct engagement also creates an opportunity for FAA leadership to explain its perspective, respond to documented concerns, identify areas of misunderstanding, and consider potential improvements without compromising aviation safety.
Why We Are Documenting This Publicly
P4HR believes transparency applies to us as well.
Our members deserve to know when we request a meeting.
They deserve to know what we ask to discuss.
They deserve to know when the FAA responds.
And they deserve to know when it does not.
That is why P4HR previously published a semi-redacted copy of its formal July 29 meeting request. The name and signature of one co-founder were withheld because that individual has not yet publicly disclosed their role, but the substance of the request was made available for anyone to review.
The Door Remains Open
The 14-day response period has expired.
A formal follow-up has now been sent.
P4HR remains available.
The door remains open.
For more than a year, we have sought the same basic thing: an opportunity to sit down with FAA aeromedical leadership and have a serious conversation about a program that directly affects the lives, careers, medical certification, and families of aviation professionals across the country.
We have asked privately.
We have asked publicly.
We have asked informally.
We have asked formally—in writing.
And today, after receiving no response within the period provided, we followed up again.
Advocating for transparency, accountability, due process, evidence-based aeromedical policy, and meaningful reform.
pilotsforhimsreform.org • p4hr@pilotsforhimsreform.org