Wings of Mercy is a charitable organization that has spent the past 35 years arranging free flights for patients in rural and underserved communities. Its network of volunteer pilots flies patients to appointments at world-class facilities like the Mayo Clinic, the University of Wisconsin Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic. The organization is funded entirely by private donations—patients and their insurers pay nothing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has claimed authority to regulate such organizations and their pilots like a commercial airline, based on an improper reading of federal law and its own regulations. The FAA Modernization and Reform Act (2012) requires the FAA to allow pilots to accept reimbursement for fuel costs on charitable medical flights, subject to a few enhanced safety requirements related to the pilot’s training and experience. The FAA ignored that mandate, choosing instead to treat any reimbursement of a pilot’s expenses as flying “for compensation or hire.” The cost is real. In July, a volunteer pilot paid $460 to fly part of a Wings of Mercy mission to the Mayo Clinic. Wings of Mercy had the funds and would have reimbursed him, but the FAA’s interpretations stood in the way. So long as those interpretations remain in force, fewer pilots will be available to help transport patients in need. In response, we've filed two federal lawsuits asking the courts to enforce the law Congress actually enacted, rather than giving agencies unchecked power to interpret the rules that govern our lives.