By Jim Posner, Poulsbo, Wash.
I have long thought that the FAA should NOT be in the medical certification business, at least for Part 91 operations. Ever since my denial – despite letters from my doctors specifically stating that I am good to go – I have tried to understand why they should consider themselves more qualified to determine my fitness to fly than my own experts. I am not a doctor nor do I have any medical training. My primary care physician is a former AME-equivalent in the military so is very familiar with “fitness to fly” criteria.
The newly introduced legislation by Congressman Todd Rokita (H.R. 3708) goes a long way toward solving this problem by eliminating the FAA-issued medical certificate requirement for piloting most types of light (under 6,000 pounds gross weight) GA singles and twins VFR below 14,000 feet and should be supported by us all. I do have some concerns about its ability to be passed, however.
The FAA wastes huge amounts of money duplicating the medical community, maintains a very inefficient bureaucracy that costs us over $55 million per year just for the medical group, is entirely unnecessary and counterproductive, compromises public safety, and is a major impediment to the growth and health of general aviation.
My concern about the Rokita bill is that if it doesn’t have some sort of oversight component, it won’t have a ghost of a chance of passing.
Clearly, there are some people who have health issues that make it unsafe for them to act as pilot in command (or drive a car for that matter). If we rely solely on them to self-determine their fitness to fly and they don’t ground themselves when they should, we could have some safety issues. There needs to be a basic requirement for us to consult with our medical professional and get him/her to agree generally and as issues come up that we’re OK to fly. They are the only ones in a position to accurately know, on a day-to-day basis, the pilot and his or her fitness to operate an aircraft safely. It should not be a government agency that knows nothing about our personal situation.
All pilots should be required to have their own physician’s permission to fly on a real-time basis to be legal. If a significant (or even minor) change in the pilot’s medical condition or medication (prescribed or OTC) makes him/her unsafe to fly, the pilot’s primary care physician will know as soon as he/she is consulted and a note would be put into the patient’s file admonishing him/her against flying (if that is the appropriate recommendation based on the diagnosis) until all re-fitness criteria are met.
Once the problem is solved, and this might be just a day or so later, the pilot is once again good to go. No longer would it take months of time, mountains of paperwork and huge costs to get certified again. If the problem can’t be solved (or until it can be solved) and the pilot’s doctor advises that he/she is risking his/her safety, the safety of his/her passengers and the public, he/she would most likely agree to stand down. When it is finally time to permanently hang up the headset, it will be a much more mutually agreed upon course of action based on the pilot’s personal circumstances, prognoses and his/her personal physician’s opinion/advice.
The FAA’s current process jeopardizes public safety because it doesn’t track the pilot’s health for the two to five years (depending on age) between examinations and thus relies on an honor system where the pilot is depended upon to self-certify and ground him or herself if he/she is not, in their personal judgment, fit to fly that day or leg.
The FAA can be involved as a clearing house of accident investigation intelligence regarding the pilot in command’s medical condition at the time of an accident and how it might have contributed to the cause. In this capacity, they would limit their involvement to issuing GUIDELINES to the medical community for determining fitness to fly based on that experience and investigative results data. Such guidelines must, however, be based on documentable research into aviation incidents/accidents that were attributable, at least in part (by the NTSB) as being caused by some preventable, medically-related incapacitation of the pilot in command, not just opinion, theory or speculation.
For instance, if there is something about the three-dimensional aspects of aviation where the pilot in question’s medical situation requires supplemental oxygen at a lower altitude than most, his or her doctor would make it clear that he/she must use it while flying at or above that altitude. It would be the same as when glasses are required if the pilot needs correction to see properly.
Whatever other differences there are (that can be documented) can be explained in a briefing paper issued by the FAA to the medical community so that they can digest and integrate those differences into their general knowledge base. These guidelines can be updated periodically as pertinent new data becomes available.
The present setup also invites pilots to “game” the system; lie about or omit facts when filling out his/her medical application or even just fly without a medical certificate. Recommended tests that could lead to improved health might be refused on the basis of possibly discovering issues that would result in a long and costly investigation by the FAA and possible denial. Using one physician to do a pre-qualification exam and then another to act as the AME for the FAA paperwork so that he/she knows what to conceal is a common tactic. Hesitance to seek advice about a medical issue because it might lead to disqualification is particularly dangerous to both the pilot and the public.
On the other hand, if he/she knew that by discussing a concern and dealing with it pro-actively, it would probably result in a relatively quick solution and re-certification, he/she would be more willing to take action. Of course, it’s possible that some might just shop around for a doctor willing to sign off on his/her fitness to fly without even examining him/her, but that puts the doctor at risk of having to answer to the NTSB if an accident occurs, making this scenario unlikely.
So, if the Rokita bill were to include a requirement for pilots to get and have his/her doctor’s continuing opinion that they are fit to fly and make that the “certification,” we should be good to go. Without such a requirement, those opposed to the bill will try to instill fear into congressional voters by suggesting that all of a sudden unfit pilots will be taking to the air jeopardizing their safety as well as their passengers and the general public. That message will ring true if there is no oversight component to the bill at all.
We must, therefore, persuade the authors of the bill to include an oversight component and then elicit the support of our congressmen/women and senators to get their affirmative vote.
Yeah, ATP guy … and I’ve heard of airline pilots subject to the very close scrutiny of a Class I physical keeling over in a cockpit. And, over all the flights of LSA’s, I haven’t heard of any pilots keeling over. So what does a medical do for us? There are lots of days when I would like to fly but don’t because I just don’t “feel right.” Just wait until the day that you can’t make your medical … THEN what’re ya gonna do? Be careful what you ask for … you might just get it.
I have known a lot of pilots in my 70 years of flying, I found them to be a conscientious group who ground themselves when necessary. Serious medical problems when pilots are at the controls are so rare they cannot be identified, Trash the third class medical it provides zero protection and is destroying a positive industry. LSA pilots are proving this every day.
So, no one federal standard for medical fitness to fly? Your individual doctor, (whose motivation is to make you happy, not to promote public safety), would make the call about whether you can fly on a case by case basis? And if you don’t like what one MD says you are free to go pay other ones for an opinion until you get the answer you want?
Your General Practitioner would be able to determine your ability to fly any aircraft under 6,000 lbs (rotorcraft, glider, lighter than air, seaplane etc.) with any impediment or disability, even though he or she is probably not the slightest bit familiar with that particular piece of equipment or its operation ? No more Statement of Demonstrated Ability?
I am generally in favor of measures that reduce the costs of flying, however, I have also encountered other pilots who passed their flight physical, but had no short term memory. I have seen some of these guys forget that they were towing a glider, or that there were other airplanes ahead of them in the pattern. I have been checked out at FBOs and received “instruction” from older instructors, (who have been renewing with online FIRC classes), that was downright scary. These guys probably shouldn’t be flying by themselves anymore. They are not alone; our whole pilot population is aging. I am not sure that less regulation is the right answer here. Less oversight is definitely not the right answer. Regardless, I don’t see any of these concerns being addressed by proposals on the table.
Back in the 50’s, before the FAA, the only people who went to an AME for their physicals were those flying commercially, i.e., Airline pilots,etc. As a student & private pilot at the time, I went to my personal doctor and he examined me for my CAA physical. Later, when I started flying the big birds, I went to a doctor appointed by the CAA to give 1st class physicals. During my 30 year career of taking a physical every 6 months, the FAA started adding more and more tests to get a 1st class physical. Now they are adding possible expensive tests for sleep apnea. Give me a break!!! I completely disagree with Bryan’s comments. There is no reason that a man flying an Aeronca 7DC Champ, which has a gross of 1300 lbs is legal to fly that airplane without a physical, but the same 7DC that has a so-called “no-bounce” gear which changes the gross weight to 1350 lbs and now that man must go to an AME to be certified as fit to fly. The same with the Ercoupe 415-C and 415-D. Same airplane. One is below 1320 lobs, the other just over. I just use these two planes as examples of the stupidity of the weight limit of the lsa category. The FAA is a bogged down, wasteful bureaucracy. I think folks like Bryan, who apparently think more government control is the answer for everything, should have to go to a government “Medicine Man” and be certified to drive their cars on a 2 lane road with a closing speed with opposite traffic of 110 mph or more. I bet they wouldn’t be supportive of that. The Light Sport movement has proven, without a doubt, that self certification of a pilot’s fitness and being restricted to the requirements on their drivers license, is a safe option.
There is already a proven and effective procedure in place that should trump any and all medical certification. The Flight Review (BFR) puts a pilot in an aircraft with an examiner who is thoroughly qualified to evaluate the pilot’s capability. Yes, a medical doctor can detect high blood pressure or diabetes that might lead to in flight incapacity. But in my experience, pilots who don’t feel well have the sense to stay on the ground. Friendly doctors can overlook medical issues just as friendly flight examiners can ignore pilot incapacity. So lets all go about this continuing certification process honestly. If you can’t fly, don’t.
Here’s a guy that probably has Sleep Apnea bad enough it affected his job:
Here’s a guy that probably has sleep apnea:
Man falls asleep while burglarizing house
A Slidell man was arrested Wednesday morning after allegedly falling asleep on the couch of a house he had broken into, a Slidell Police Department spokesman said. Sharrod McCullum, 31, was roused from his slumber by police officers after the homeowner got up and found him, spokesman Daniel Seuzeneau said. When asked why he was in the house, McCullum said he didn’t know but that he remembered drinking the night before. Officers found that McCullum had entered the house by forcing open a rear door. He had a screwdriver and a GPS unit which officers suspected he stole from a car nearby, Seuzeneau said. McCullum was booked on counts of simple burglary and criminal damage.
@ Bryan B. You sound too much like someone who is very much in favor of an expensive, unelected government bureaucracy that jealously guards its sacred rice bowl while adding more rice to the bowl in the form of more intrusive regulations and hiring more people so that it eventually becomes so large and intrusive with so much bureaucratic inertia that it is an impossible force to move. Such is the case with the FAA. “We’re from the government and we’re just here to help!” The FAA might be a perfect place for you to retire.
I agree with you. My local physician is not able to determine if I am competent to fly an aircraft and has no standards that he can apply.
Also, I have seen incredible cases of people self medicating with opiates and thinking that they are good to fly.
I would like to minimize cost, but having someone apply a uniform standard (providing the applicant is honest) is valuable and goes a long way to protect public safety.
The Body Mass Index interpretation by the FAA is a worry – not for me, but it is over the top and is excessive.
I just cannot agree that a self certifying Class 3 is a good idea – but I’m reminded that many pilots who have lost a medical simply fly without one, and they are effectively self certifying.
It’s a divisive topic, and there is no simple answer. But I would keep the Class 3 medical requirement.