I’m not trying to be facetious but anybody care to take a stab at the question?

I completely agree except for the last sentence... it isn't the government's job.

Let me tell you how ridiculous the FAA Medical Folks can be.

About 15 years ago my wife noticed a discolored area on the back of my head had gotten darker. My Doc had previously looked at it and said it was OK. The wife started bugging me to go see the Doc. I had to see the Doc for another reason a few weeks later, and at the last second I remembered to ask him about that spot. This time he said go see the Skin Doc. A few days later I did. Skin Doc took a sample and sent it to the lab. This was on a Thursday, Monday morning his nurse calls me and says the lab just called, the spot was malignant melanoma but it had not metastasized yet. They sent me to a plastic surgeon who cut out a quarter sized chunk around the dime-sized melanoma. Test confirmed he got it all. The procedure was simple, I could have driven myself home even if my wife hadn't been with me. This was a close call but really not a big deal, at least I thought so.

Now all this happened about a month after my March FAA Physical. I went back to flying a few days after all this, and months later when my September Physical was due my AME's Nurse told me to call AMAS and see what info I needed for reporting this event. The Doc at AMAS returned my call and told me I had been flying illegally all summer! Any Cancer is grounding until the FAA reviews the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. So even thou I was perfectly healthy I had to stop flying for several months and get the paperwork done. I later got a nastygram from the FAA "admonishing" me to abide by such-and-such regulations. This event cost me thousands of dollars in lost wages. It's no wonder pilots try to hide stuff from the FAA.

I don't think anyone is going to jail for hiding something unless it results in an accident/incident like the JetBlue Captain the F/O had to lock out of the cockpit. (I have no idea what happened to him, or if he knew he had an illness).

People have gone to jail. You got off lightly because you were not trying to hide anything, it was an honest mistake, and they found out about it from you.

If they find out by some other means, it's a serious condition, and you failed to report it at a regular medical, that's when DOJ gets involved.

In theory they can access any federal records, although this has been sporadic to date. Eventually they will gain access to all medical records, which are now all digital (federal law). Eventually I expect they will use automated record screening. If you're young you might see retroactive, automated screening of all your old records later in your career. This is why honesty is more important than it used to be.

When I was an army recruiter for a few years, I found out that NO = New Opportunities and YES = Your Enlistment Stops.

For what it’s worth...


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That's what my grandfather (WWII pilot and 30-year man) told me before I joined up. But the military is just checking boxes, as long as you can get the job done they're not going to dig too deep. But the FAA will have your *** thrown in federal prison if you intentionally falsify the fact that you have a significant medical issue. If you get caught falsifying anything, they'll most likely revoke all of your certs. Not worth the risk.

Yes, you are correct I was referring to non-intentional. And Pilots who hide a major condition should get some jail time if it's something that could incapacitate them.

Here's what happened to a Cape Air pilot that hide the fact he was an insulin dependent diabetic until he had a episode where his pax had to restrain him and a student pilot landed the plane gear up:

Former Cape Air pilot sent to prison - News - capecodtimes.com - Hyannis, MA

He got 16 months in prison and 2 years supervised release.

Edit: here's what happened to the JetBlue Captain that had to be locked out of the cockpit:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/travel...sed/index.html

Really? To whom has this happened?

The short list of criminal prosecution for FAA-related cases is very short indeed, and doesn't involve falsification on medical certificate applications.

Can you say Sabretech?

See the post above. I don't know what sabretech is.

Also, here's one mass prosecution involving disability records...

U.S. Says 46 Pilots Lied to Obtain Their Licenses - The New York Times

Some of them went to jail. If you break a federal law (vice an FAR), the DOJ prosecutes you, not the FAA.

"The authorities reviewed licenses held by both commercial and private pilots and found that some license applicants claimed to be medically fit to fly an airplane yet were simultaneously receiving disability benefits."

You can't fix stupid.