Originally Posted by
Jetjok
Just for sh!ts and grins, I'd be interested in why "some people" went to jail for what you mentioned above. On the electronic medical application, you're asked to highlight either Yes or No to the question: "Medical disability benefits."
When I googled "FAA Medical disability benefits", this appeared: "The applicant must report any disability benefits received, regardless of source or amount. If the applicant checks yes on this item, the FAA may verify with other Federal Agencies (ie. Social Security Administration, Veteran's Affairs) whether the applicant is receiving a disability benefit that may present a conflict in issuing an FAA medical certificate. The Examiner must document the specifics and nature of the disability in findings in Item 60."
Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the applicant receives a VA disability, for something that's not disqualifying, I don't see where the problem is. However, if the issue involved is related to flying, and was not answered correctly on the application, then there's a problem. Just receiving a disability payment from the VA is in no way disqualifying.
What I referred to occurred before the question about disability benefits was added to the FAA medical form. The FAA for some reason decided to cross-reference their pilot medical list with a list of folks claiming government (federal I assume but don't recall for certain) disability benefits. Some of the matches were getting disability for serious, disqualifying conditions but had maintained an FAA medical by not disclosing their issues. They went to jail for lying on a federal form (read the fine print, it's not FAA and admin law, it's DOJ and a federal felony). Presumably they did a plea deal since a case like that would be essentially irrefutable.