I know this topic has been beaten to death but I'm really going crazy! This past April 24th 2023, my First Class Medical was deferred for being on Xarelto, to treat my past episodes of pulmonary embolisms.

Application Submission Date:04/19/2023
AME Import Date:04/24/2023
Exam Date:04/24/2023
Exam Transmittal Date:04/24/2023

As per MedXPress, the FAA received all documentation they requested from me around 05/16/2023 and they scanned everything in and initiated the REVIEW PROCESS on 06/08/2023.

So it's been almost 5 calendar months since I was deferred and it's been exactly 69 BUSINESS DAYS since they started the review process. The MedXPress website says they strive to complete the review process within 60 business days but that has already passed.

Could this be wrapped up very soon or am I looking at months more of excruciating wait time? I know it's all on a case by case basis and so many variables, but man, this is torture. =(

 

Are you doing this on your own, or working through a service that handles deferrals and waivers?

 

Hi John! Started it on my own. About a month ago, reached out to AOPA and now they request status updates every other week and they each time they tell me that the FAA informed them my app is pending physician review.

 

Plan on months more

 

Damn, so what seems to be the average turnaround then? In business days...

 

That's good; it's a difficult row to hoe on your own, and really needs support in navigating the process.

It would be inaccurate to suggest an average turn-around time, because of several factors: the response is dependent on each individual applicant and that applicant's personal medical condition, medical records, history, etc, and the turn time on each condition will vary. Moreover, caseload will vary.

Bird in the hand vs. the bush-dwelling variety being what they are, it may be well to occupy yourself based on the longer haul than the shorter one. I had some time to kill some years ago during a brief medical interlude, and chose to turn wrenches during that time. When I was cleared up, I returned to service. The timing was frustrating, as it began the night before I was to start my captain upgrade line training, and having just come from the sim, was springloaded and ready to go.

Adding to the frustration is sometimes that the FAA will ask for more data, more testing, etc, months or more later. Just when one was hoping to return to work, the process seems to be starting again. This may be due to various reasons, and could be as simple as they'd just gotten to one's case, or it could be that an evaluation of the condition was inconclusive and more data was needed. It maybe that additional details came to light to complicate something which once seemed straight-forward. An example is a frustrated poster who has a couple of threads running right now; he held a third class medical, which was revoked when additional complications were brought to light. Further applications were denied; it wasn't necessarily one condition or the other but the combination of information received indicated further review warranted. There's nothing fair about one's medical qualification: just life. I do understand the frustration. You're quite right to get aviation support in your corner.

A popular choice, mentioned here often and utilized by ALPA, et al, is AMAS (aviation medical advisory service): https://www.aviationmedicine.com

 

FAA Aeromedical is a total dumpster fire, and pilots are suffering the consequences due to not enough people in OKC (or elsewhere) reviewing SI paperwork in a timely fashion. The COVID excuse only lasts so long...

AMAS is worth every penny they charge.

 

Seriously. You could very well, after several more months, get a letter saying “please provide xyz paperwork” after which point they will take 8 more months to review it

 

Guys, thanks for the feedback, I truly appreciate it.

I know I will get flak for what I'm about to confess but it is what it is. I have taken the risk of beginning flight training while I wait for the SI, well knowing they can flat out deny it. =( I just turned 50 and I just can't afford to sit around waiting for the SI. I pray to God that I do get it. My condition is not one where I should be denied a SI. My AME said he has had patients get their SI whom have had blood clots as recently as within the past 6 months. Mine were 3 years ago and I've had no issues whatsoever with my blood thinners.

Anyhow, I already have 106 hours of dual instruction. I completed all mandatory dual hours for the PPL and also completed all 40 hours simulated instrument dual hours for my IR. Now I'm just continuing to fly building up night time and XC time as well, all dual instruction. I'll probably end up spending more money doing it this way, but it is what it is. I just don't want to sit around. On the flip side, by the time I get the SI, if I do, I'll be able to solo and complete my checkrides extremely fast and without major issues.

I know it's a huge risk I'm taking by doing it this way, but if God willing, I do get the SI, it will all work out for the best.

Following your recommendations, I will probably reach out to AMAS today and see what they can do. Thanks again, folks.

 

A common reason for an additional-paperwork or records request is that the aviator applicant has provided insufficient. With many physicians working through online access now, pilots will use the records they download through their online access at that physicians facility, and the FAA wants more than what's downloadable. If all that's been provided are the downloaded summary and other documents, the FAA will likely want everything, including in some cases hospital records, etc. If there has been a delay in getting to the case due to the number of SI submitted nationwide, then the frustration at that point is that the can is being kicked down the road. It's not, but the requisite paperwork is lacking. It's for that reason that working through a service such as AMAS is a wise call.

The consulting fee at AMAS is fifty bucks for two days of email access, or seventy, I believe, for two days of phone access. If one goes that route, have all the documentation on hand before you make contact, to fully utilize the consultation.

You posted while I was typing, so I'll edit to add a few thoughts. There's nothing wrong with pressing forward with your flight training, as clearly you understand the risks and rewards and the potential cost of doing so. Some of us are driven to fly. It's that simple. That said, are you seeking a Class 1, 2, or 3 medical presently? There isn't a great deal more involved in a first class vs. third, but the standards are a little more stringent with each higher class, and the intervals are shorter. What class medical you seek will really depend on where you plan to go with your flight training.

Though you're past the point presently, basic med covers private flying without a FAA medical ,but requires that there's been no rejection for a medical certificate. Once applied for and once past 60 days, a resolution needs to happen with the existing medical; either approval or denial. If approved, you may operate under the medical conditions given, or simply keep the approved medical and let it lapse if you intend to continue flying under basic med...you can do that if you don't have a revocation or denial (special issuance may have a wrinkle, however). This simplifies the process going forward, if the flying is simply for fun or enjoyment.

The caveat with all cases is that one is required to self-ground any time a condition occurs which does not make one medically fit or airworthy. The FAA's medical certification not withstanding, any FAA medical certificate, or basic med privilege is suspended upon any condition which makes one unable to be fit enough to hold the certificate, according to the standards prescribed for the certificate. That could mean a headcold, or something more serious: the medical certificate isn't valid for use until one is fit again.

You may receive something in the mail during your wait, that implies you have run into a legal problem with the process or with the FAA. In such a case you'll want to follow up right away with a service like AMAS, but it may not be as dire as it seems, and should be followed shortly by another letter that doesn't sound as threatening. The FAA also sends out notices to airman who hold medical certificates, advising them of enforcement action, should they not meet the standards for that certificate; this doesn't mean that the FAA is actually taking enforcement action, but the FAA does take that step with issued medicals that are more than 60 days past issuance, for legal reasons, when medical certification is in doubt. This has to do with the basic med program that allows pilots to fly without a medical certificate (private flying); the FAA won't allow a pilot with a medical deficiency to simply surrender the certificate and keep flying under basic med in that case, but will the medical, cutting off the path to legal use of basic med. In your case, you're still waiting on issuance, so it shouldn't apply, but I mention it as there are cases in which airmen do eventually get the certificate and then find it revoked, and wonder why the FAA found them fit, then not fit...that's not necessarily the case, confusing as it may sound.

I'll add the disclaimer that I don't work for AMAS and get nothing for mentioning them; I have no affiliation and I'm not advertising their services. They are used by ALPA, SWAPA, Atlas, and numerous other companies, however, for good reason, and most of their clients are professional aviators. I think of retaining such services as an investment.