|
FAA Medical
Certification | Remember this!
David Hale,
Executive Director, Pilot Medical Solutions, Inc.
Talk with pilots and usually the
last thing on their mind is losing their medical certification. Yet virtually every pilot
who wants to continue to fly will face an issue which will affect their medical. Remember
this article when, it happens to you.
Most of us remember a time we got "behind"
the airplane. On my first cross country I discovered how easy it is. Poor planning was
the culprit. Between Los Angeles and Palomar Field in San Diego I chose a storage tanks
for a check point... bad choice! There are hundreds of tanks among the somewhat
confusing borders of Class B Airspace, Military Restricted Areas, and Mexico! Needless to
say, it affected my confidence.
Poor planning is also the fastest way to being grounded. You must plan ahead for
your medical to assure its security.
You can plan a successful FAA medical exam! Receiving advice prior
to medical certificate applications is both legal and free.
Pilot Medical Solutions
provides
advice to pilots free of charge. Having the benefit of a case manager to retrieve,
review, organize, and submit medical records required by the FAA is an additional service,
available
from Pilot Medical Solutions.
Could it really happen to you?
Almost 50% of the applications for a medical certificate
are rejected because of medical
or clerical problems. Several thousand denial letters are sent each year, and
thousands of pilots require Special Issuance medical certificates.
AME’s often discover
issues which require extensive documentation and which pilots are not prepared for.
Basic pre-certification preparation could have spared many of these folks from the
frustration denial and lengthy grounding periods.
Getting pre-certification advice and gathering documentation to
substantiate your fitness to fly assures that valuable time once lost to deferred or
denied applications is minimized rather than commonplace.
Any government office is an easy
target for criticism. However, be advised that like many of us, FAA aeromedical managers
are just trying to do their job with limited manpower.
FAA standards are quite liberal
when compared to other nations. If you want to make a non-pilot friend nervous, tell him
there are Insulin Dependant Diabetic pilots right now in the sky above them taking their
blood sugars.
Federal Air Surgeon, Doctor Jon Jordan, and Certification Manager, Doctor
Warren Silberman, go to great lengths to grant exceptions to Federal Standards when fit
pilots apply, but make no mistake, preparation and documentation are critical.
The tenacious do have hope,
Very few pilots are
ultimately denied, but sadly many pilots suffer needlessly because they don’t prepare
or take advantage of help which is just a phone call away.
The one person with the greatest interest in you securing medical
certification is you, the pilot. EAA Aeromedical Chairman,
Doctor John Hastings, tells pilots: "Your primary care physician, specialist, and
AME may be sympathetic and willing to help, but you alone can keep the process moving and
ensure all necessary information is gathered."
REMEMBER THIS: Pre-certification consultations virtually
eliminate premature FAA medical applications which often ground pilots.
Contact
us today!
|
