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Special Issuance process

Old 05-18-2019, 04:17 AM
  #1  
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Default Special Issuance process

I don’t want to be perceived as having a bad attitude - I’m committed to full disclosure medically - and my goal is simply to better understand the Special Issuance process to optimize my chances of success. But the more I learn about the Special Issuance process, the more I’m more concerned, frustrated and - in all honesty - scared (not of being thoroughly evaluated, but of a possible incorrect adverse end result).

Once deferred to OKC/DC, this whole thing honestly feels like a question of whether your AME “likes you” enough to advocate hard & correctly for you and, more importantly, whether the FAA officials/employees handling your package “like you.” The pilot has to shell out thousands of dollars to be evaluated in great depth and invest 6-12 months (non-revenue airmen currently but aspiring Part 121 pilot) to learn the result. There are no objective standards (the pilot doesn’t meet those or they wouldn’t need SI process to begin with) so there’s tons of individual discretion & inconsistency applied to determine the result. FAA bureaucrats - who, at the end of the day, are really in the business of CYA-ing themselves long/well enough to qualify for their federal retirement - have no motivation to approve SI’s and have complete access (via request/requirement to the pilot to provide) to medical records to find one obscure misdiagnosis or note from decades ago that concerns them enough to not approve an SI (or that was inadvertently left off the current MedExpress form or my last medical application from decades ago) and order any evaluation they want done regardless of cost or true medical validity. This whole process takes a disgusting amount of time - what is the FAA REALLY doing that makes it take this long to learn the result of the process? There’s an extremely delicate balance to find between proactively giving the FAA information to minimize the time the SI process takes without giving them info they would’ve never asked for otherwise (i.e., avoiding providing info they wouldn’t have otherwise asked for that will cause issues). HIMS AME’s (or, really, their secretaries/gatekeepers) can refuse to work with you at their whim & without knowing any facts at all of your situation - they are “for-profit” entities and if they’ve decided that their belly is full enough for now, then that’s that. I have done consults with 2 HIMS AME’s who said they can get me through the process...but they get paid for me choosing to go through the process, NOT for a successful result, so I don’t know how much stock to place in their assessment.

I’ve long-since reached a point of paralysis-by-analysis regarding the SI process; the more I learn, the more it concerns me. To those who have been through this in some fashion: please demystify this for me or give me some hope or - more than anything - tell me how to get through this successfully.

For what it’s worth, my need for a HIMS AME has nothing to do with anything criminal, legal or that would cause concern on a background check - purely medical (no DUI/public intoxicating/etc). No offense intended to anyone with HIMS criminal/legal issues - we all make mistakes (I sure do).
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Old 05-18-2019, 07:43 AM
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I suggest you send a PM to lbfowlerjrmd, a HIMS AME and member of APC.
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Old 05-18-2019, 08:31 AM
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Take a deep breath. Good, you were able to vent.

Some of what you say is true. We are talking a federal bureaucracy and the people who are granted the discretion to exempt you from the rules do cover their rears, because they worked long and hard to get those positions and one GermanWings like incident, and they are not only a mort as far as federal career goes, they are probably unemployable in any job requiring malpractice insurance, and that’s likely the case irregardless of whether they actually effed up, or just got blamed for something totally unrelated.

Without knowing your specific problem, none of us can tell you how realistic (or unrealistic) your expectations are. Clearly you’ve tripped a wire. That may be because you have a problem that is simply NEVER going to get a Special Issuance, like you having bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. That’s not your fault, but likewise not theirs either, and they simply aren’t going to approve you.

Of course just because you were DIAGNOSED with those conditions, doesn’t necessarily mean you even have them. Local MDs toss around diagnoses pretty loosely (look how many kids are diagnosed with ADD, H€||, look how many people are overprescribed OxyContin). Just because it’s in the record doesn’t necessarily make it real, and it takes time to sort these things out. And yes, it often takes a knowledgeable advocate to research the history and make the argument, because the FAA simply doesn’t Have enough physical standards people to sleuth out and get that information for everyone desiring a Special Issuance and every minute they spend on you backs up the next guy that much further.

That’s simply the reality.
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Old 05-18-2019, 08:51 AM
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I’m on 2 different SIs and deal with the former head of CAMI’s Airman Certification as my AME and I’ve not found your concerns about AMEs or the people at CAMI to be mainly concerned with CYA.

Good luck with the process. Your best chance of success will be to do exactly what they ask if you, take the tests they request, and give them the test results they want - and if you meet the criteria which is well defined you will be granted your SI.
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Old 05-18-2019, 10:41 AM
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I appreciate your well-wishes and help.

Can you please explain your reference to the “criteria which is well defined”? My current understanding is that the only criteria/standards involved are those that require the SI. Once the SI is required (because the standards aren’t met), it just comes down to the ‘professional judgment’ (a.k.a., mood or personal assessment or phase of the moon...) of CAMI and/or DC with AME input.

Originally Posted by USMCFLYR View Post
I’m on 2 different SIs and deal with the former head of CAMI’s Airman Certification as my AME and I’ve not found your concerns about AMEs or the people at CAMI to be mainly concerned with CYA.

Good luck with the process. Your best chance of success will be to do exactly what they ask if you, take the tests they request, and give them the test results they want - and if you meet the criteria which is well defined you will be granted your SI.
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Old 05-18-2019, 10:51 AM
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Patronize if you must, but my intent isn’t to vent (although my frustration & fear of the ultimate result due to what seems to be a very broken process are very real), but instead it’s to better understand the apparent voodoo of the SI process.

Also, I mentioned that 2 HIMS AME’s said they could get me through the process, so there’s plenty of hope...unless both AME’s just see me as a walking dollar sign for themselves & their peers who would conduct the extensive evaluations.

Some of the evaluations that are deemed medically-necessary are comically antiquated at best & were never relevant at worst and I understand results of the the FAA-required evaluations (supposedly specific to each individual case, if I’m not mistaken) are outright ignored by the decision-makers at the Administration at times, instead favoring their personal, errrrr professional judgment. Why is there minimal-to-no objectivity involved? Why doesn’t the FAA (Physical Standards) have the resources to do their job & instead pushes that off to others? (Is the FAA the approval authority here or not???)

Thanks for your help, but all you’ve done is point out the same concerns I shared originally.

Originally Posted by Excargodog View Post
Take a deep breath. Good, you were able to vent.

Some of what you say is true. We are talking a federal bureaucracy and the people who are granted the discretion to exempt you from the rules do cover their rears, because they worked long and hard to get those positions and one GermanWings like incident, and they are not only a mort as far as federal career goes, they are probably unemployable in any job requiring malpractice insurance, and that’s likely the case irregardless of whether they actually effed up, or just got blamed for something totally unrelated.

Without knowing your specific problem, none of us can tell you how realistic (or unrealistic) your expectations are. Clearly you’ve tripped a wire. That may be because you have a problem that is simply NEVER going to get a Special Issuance, like you having bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. That’s not your fault, but likewise not theirs either, and they simply aren’t going to approve you.

Of course just because you were DIAGNOSED with those conditions, doesn’t necessarily mean you even have them. Local MDs toss around diagnoses pretty loosely (look how many kids are diagnosed with ADD, H€||, look how many people are overprescribed OxyContin). Just because it’s in the record doesn’t necessarily make it real, and it takes time to sort these things out. And yes, it often takes a knowledgeable advocate to research the history and make the argument, because the FAA simply doesn’t Have enough physical standards people to sleuth out and get that information for everyone desiring a Special Issuance and every minute they spend on you backs up the next guy that much further.

That’s simply the reality.
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Old 05-18-2019, 10:52 AM
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Many thanks, TG, and will do - I appreciate it a great deal

Originally Posted by tomgoodman View Post
I suggest you send a PM to lbfowlerjrmd, a HIMS AME and member of APC.
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Old 05-18-2019, 11:17 AM
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thanks for the referral
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Old 05-18-2019, 12:58 PM
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Not patronizing anyone. Without more information about the issue and what tests or consults you believe to be “comically antiquainted” and irrelevant, it IS just a rant and all we can do IS commiserate.
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Old 05-18-2019, 05:22 PM
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I appreciate it, but my question centers on procedural matters that would be somewhat common for all issues that drive the need for a HIMS AME (specific tests may vary somewhat per individual diagnoses, but the process would be fairly constant). I’d prefer to leave the specific medical matters to medical professionals and my goal is to learn details from those who have been through the process or are otherwise intimately familiar with the process.

As for the tests, what bearing does an IQ test have on mental health? (I’m hoping that the need for an IQ test that’s been shared in places is inaccurate - or I’d enjoy learning the science behind that, especially without a baseline to compare against - but sometimes the FAA does things because that’s they way they do things.)

I do appreciate your help and I certainly don’t mean to be dismissive, but, right now, I’m much more curious about the procedural/process matters than the nitty-gritty medical side of my particular situation. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by Excargodog View Post
Not patronizing anyone. Without more information about the issue and what tests or consults you believe to be “comically antiquainted” and irrelevant, it IS just a rant and all we can do IS commiserate.
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