Baron50

Absolutely, I always get my medical advice from anonymous doctors in airline pilot chat rooms. If I need aviation advice, I go to the medical forums, no shortage of opinions there.

BoilerUP

Probably about as much as people LOVE it when doctors try to "educate" professional pilots about aviation issues.

cardiomd

And about GA issues nonetheless. This affects me more than any actual professional pilots on this board.

We will see quite a few more exciting pilot incapacitation issues if the medical is abandoned. Here is my prediction: somebody rich or important will die, then the family will sue, then medical restrictions will come back even worse than it is today as the FAA feels it has to "do something."

It seems to be the American way.

cardiomd

Wow, they found a rural gynecologist that agrees with them! It is like when they parade around the one black guy on Fox news.

As a doctor myself I would find it impossible to "self-certify" things that are detected by the medical. I don't have a chem lab in my basement or a home EKG machine. Do you know what your resting oxygen saturation is? By the time you get winded walking 2 blocks it would be really, really late, but raise the cabin altitude to 9000 feet and you might have a problem. People just are being naive in their "opinions."

Many, many people (pilots) don't see doctors otherwise (most young people don't have to.) Seeing an aviation trained doctor every 5 years as a young pilot is a very, very good idea, or even more frequently as an older pilot.

F15Cricket

Who do you take your Class 3 from??? I have never given blood, had any chem tests done, been administered an EKG, or had my resting O2 saturation measured for a class 3 ... shoot, I don't even have any of those done for my Class 2, which allows me to take you and your entire family on a 737! And, only one of those is required for a Class 1 (EKG), and only once a year for my age.

Doc, you do realize all professional airline pilots self-certify every time they fly, right? Yes, I do acknowledge that commercial pilots get some tests done, but even the Class 2 is not really a comprehensive medical exam. So, I think the whole point here is it doesn't really increase safety, and will allow America's declining aviation industry to possibly grow--something good for ALPA, airline pilots, and doctors with airplanes.

cardiomd

Nor should you in the AME's discretion. You are not the target population here, which is aimed at GA pilots who are generally much older. If you walked in and were 65 and had risk factors, then yes, you would be subject to all of the things I described above. According to AME guidelines the target population does and routinely gets these things.

Everybody is not like you. You are probably healthy. Your post is another indication most people here are arguing things they know very little about.

Yes. I also "self-certify" every time I fly. I'm not allowed to certify for more than 3 years at a time, and there is a good reason for that. Allowing a 70 year old pilot to "self-certify" for perpetuity for things he doesn't know he has (or is difficult to tell) is simply stupid. Spend a bit of time with an AME who does Class III's (not I's) and you will see the kind of people that try to fly. I'm sure with a bit of education and experience in this regard the vast majority of opinions would change.

Packrat

Pretty much a description for APC in general. One whining pilot gets bumped off his commute jumpseat and it generates an entire thread of misinformation about FAA inspections.

ALPA opposes this change and a whole bunch of GA enthusiasts get all butt hurt because they have to get a physical every 5 years.

"...things they know nothing about..."

What? Base opinion on fact rather than agenda? YGBSM! Don't tell Faux News that!

Well said, Doc.

cardiomd

For those following the issue, there is a revised bill that is not as radical as the "abandon third-class medical and let everybody fly."

Medical Reform Moves Forward, but with Big Changes | Flying Magazine

Basically the new bill requires seeing a personal doctor minimum every 4 years, and requires an initial FAA physical.

As a doc, I think this is more reasonable now and better than the irresponsible previous bill. ALPA called out the elephant in the room and shot it down fortunately.

The bill seems still designed to get medically unqualified people in the air, not focused on reduction in hassle or safety.

I would rather have had a FAA examiner every 4 years than any old personal physician. The pilot is not required to tell the physician he is still flying (self-certify only) so can legally just minimize conditions that would be disqualifying. With an AME there is a more targeted exam more focused on things that would potentially cause incapacitation.

I also liked the dynamic where the FAA examiner would be the objective guy (bad cop) and I could advocate for my patients while talking with him or her. The medical could be then approved or denied. In the current format, who is going to revoke medicals that are inappropriate? The pilot could just not mention piloting, log the doctor visit in the logbook, and legally head out, where if he had mentioned to the examiner he was still flying it may be a definite no-go. How is a general MD to know what is involved with flying a plane? We will have to see what the final wording is.

The bill still seems to be driven by a few well-heeled and influential GA pilots that want to legally fly as they become or approach medical disqualification.

Nevets

Again, thousands of pilots fly sports aircraft everyday without ever seeing a doctor. And none of them have died in flight like the airline pilots who have.

Baron50

That's nonsense, you should recognize reality, we don't now need a medical to fly, it only determines the size of the airplane.

One air safety improvement would be to get those who can afford too much airplane for their skill level, with an arrogant "know it all" attitude, out of the system. Hubris has caused far more accidents than medical deficiency.

ALPA supports the current incarnation, probably because of the backlash by local council resolutions. They now blame their previous ill advised position on a staff misunderstanding.