AMCD SI Turnaround Time Q2/2021
 

What is a recent turn-around time for an initial approval to come back from OKC for simple SI? AME's office when they filed the paperwork for me told me 2-3 months but wondering if there's any other stories? Any experience attempting to get a verbal authorization before receiving the official letter?

Thanks for reading.

In my opinion, 2-3 months is unacceptable when your livelihood depends on your medical review. I think each pilot should write his or her congressional representative.

The official timeline these days believe it or not is 120 days. They are being optimistic when they say 2-3 months...

I have to do a treadmill every year for my SI and never have any treadmill issues. Turned in my treadmill and report in June. Still haven’t heard back and am using sick leave for income. It’s unbelievable compared to previous years. I used to give two months lead time before my medical expired but will probably push it out to four months. Ugh.

Can’t AMAS/ALPA Aeromedical speed this process along?

I’m working that angle. Will report if it works out.

try calling your regional flight surgeons office. And your congressional respresentative.

so 120-day turnaround time is actual reality. awesome.

I believe special issuances have to go all the way up to the Federal Air Surgeon in DC. Mine took about 5 months after everything was submitted to get the rubber stamp of approval.

You'll want to work every angle you can here to make sure it doesn't drag out. The FAA doesn't have to do anything, so it's best to put a little fire under their feet. Heres what I did:

BTW Before doing any of this, give it 2-3 months. That's pretty standard as far as reply times go with FAA medical reviews. People will be more willing to help you if it's been that long since everything was sent in. Otherwise you get the "its still waiting for review, give it some more time" standard response.

1. After 2-3 months I started calling my regional flight surgeon's office every other week and they noted my calls in my file. Sometimes they "Emailed" someone on my behalf up the chain. They were very pleasant to work with.
2. Call OKC medical hotline once a week and ask them to note your file that you called, each time. (405) 954-4821 option 1) call multiple times a day if you get the "sorry we're too busy" recording. Usually early morning and lunch time (12pm central time) are good times.
3. Use AOPA or other medical lobbying services as you are currently doing.
4. At 4+ months of waiting and still no answer, I wrote my both my senators offices who wrote letters to the FAA on my behalf. Usually you have to write them a letter detailing the situation and how they can help.

Just keep at it! Good luck

And yeah the wait does suck, but honestly what I did was set my expectations of 5-6 months and vowed to make them productive. I got a part time job at FlightSafety doing right seat in one of their simulators (no medical required) became a better pilot along the way. The time flew by and I had my medical and it sure felt good. It's nice to know you went through the process the right way. Lots of people lie to get around it and potentially expose themselves to severe penalties including loss of their FAA certificates and even criminal prosecution.

2.5 months in and still "under review." AMCD and RFS are telling me don't bother calling in unless more than three months in. It's an AASI initial, relatively simple case however.

30 days is fairly standard for an initial SI issuance as a minimum provided everything is provided exactly as demanded. Renewals are usually not problematic. I let my SI lapse and did a "redo" this year.
Submitted all reports and took medical on the 13th. SI authorization was issued on the 26th. I did not use any medical service (ALPA, AMAS, etc). I thought it was fairly efficient as I was expecting it to take much longer.

I submitted all my paperwork mid August. It's getting close to three months. I understand they need to make sure everything's good for the record. But relatively simple cases like mine (according to my AME), at least verbal authorizations should be given prior to the official stamp of approval. We are talking months of no pay for many pilots on top of stress and anxiety they are getting.

Does your AME have extensive experience handling SI's? Does the FAA AMCD know that you are a revenue airman? My paperwork has "REVENUE AIRMAN" stamped on each page. They put those applications on top of the heap I was told. Simple dispositions should not take more than 90 days. Now, there are some medications that have a mandatory waiting period as well that cannot be waived (90 days with a few and especially new ones). It can be frustrating and stressful for a career pilot. FAA, unfortunately, works at its own pace. I would call them weekly and involve your AME, RFS, and Union medical division if available. All the best.

As an add-on just want to reiterate. Whatever your condition is, find out the FAA protocol for it and follow it exactly. After submitting, call them and make sure they have everything they need. Sometimes, just checking on your file, they will just say it's under review, and weeks later you will get a letter stating you need to provide additional tests or information. This is critical because FAA does not email or call you. Snail mail can take weeks and it will delay everything. I did all my SI paperwork myself and sent it directly and not through my AME. I just went to my AME for the physical and cc'd the reports I submitted. The AME offered to send everything but I didn't want to get lost in the shuffle. It worked well for me.

Timeline probably changed with covid. I have all parties you mentioned involved and they all are saying 2-3 months at least. As far as I know my AME who filed the SI after getting a regular physical due is extremely proficient and experienced with SI cases. Thanks for your input tho.

write your congressman

I'm gonna wait until I hit that 3 months mark and write my congressional rep. It probably won't even make any difference, but it's definitely my last card.

Another way to check to see if your approval might be "on the way" is to check the FAA Airman Registry. It's not an official confirmation but it's just another way to see if things have changed. The medical information will switch from "no medical" to the new status.

I know it's COVID-19 and all but I would be surprised if it took longer than 90 days considering it's an AASI and as you mentioned a simple case. Not sure why they would want to drag their feet on this one. There are plenty of complicated cases for them to review longer. I wish you the best and a speedy resolution in FAA speak.

Yeah I honestly don't know. Even last year when covid was full on they were talking 4-8 weeks and now it's stretching out even more. They are saying that about 90% of cases lay in the window of 8-12 weeks. I understand covid slows everything down, but we also spent trillions to compensate for that slowdown. I wonder how long other initial cases are taking.

So this morning, it showed "No Medical Information Available" on FAA's airmen inquiry website. I called RFS to confirm if there is any decision made and so far nothing yet. RFS also found it strange because changes in medical information section typically meant something new came up. Any experience from other guys related to this? Does it still take few days or weeks until the official decision shows on their system? Next week marks 3 months exactly.

The airman registry medical information can be unreliable. A few years ago, it changed to the new status and it was followed by the official medical. More recently, it showed that a medical was issued when in fact it was not. I queried the RFS office about it and they said it does happen sometimes where input is premature or in error. I am pretty sure yours is on the way if it's a simple case. Hang in there.

just curious, how long did it take you to have an actual medical in your hand after seeing the status change on their website?

The first around, when I saw the status change, I called AMCD in OKC right away and they were able to email it to me. So I got it immediately. However, they won't do this unless you ask. The normal mode is snail mail which can take 7-14 business days.

That's normal when an SI medical application is sent in and under review. Same thing happened with me, one time after they received the application/documents for the initial SI review, and again when I missed my renewal deadline and had to beg forgiveness from the FAA to get a renewal (they did this time, but I'm not going to try it again that's for sure). Call Regional Flight Surgeon once a week and call OKC once a week and kindly ask them to note your file that you called.

Do you recall how long it took for you to receive your medical after seeing the status change to "No Medical Information Available?" It has been more than three months now since the submission.

I finally received my SI 1C in mail today. 15 weeks. I hope I never go through the process again.

Whew! Congratulation and welcome back!

Thanks again for all your input. This whole process is almost traumatic, it would for its own band of brothers.

DFW AME
 

all good responses. I used to say 3 months for SIs. Its now 6 months. Its worse during the pandemic as many of the Drs were working from home. Work with an experienced AME. The Federal Surgeon,Dr Northrup is trying to reduce the time.

The key is to get all your info scanned into system ASAP with your PI# on them. It seems like nobody gets a review prior to the first 30 days so you are wasting your time if you call them in the first month

Not all cases go to Washington DC.

Once they have all the info, have your AME or you call OKC every 2 weeks. Sometimes it is sitting in the inbox of the reviewer and a verbal OK can be received.


I am a senior AME with an office at KGKY ( Arlington TX). See my website at www.SambellPilotPhysical.com my cell 214 693 607five