jpmdr111

A close friend of mine in flight school told me about some medical problems he is having and wanted to know what i thought. I am at a loss, and thought he should report the info:

He just finished his private pilot license and is looking at making a career out of flying. He told me he got his 1st class but negated the fact that he had Asthma as a child. He has been symptom free seance he was 5. But recently he thinks it might be coming back (it being allergy season he has some slight wheezing).


After reading some posts here I thought he should just see a doctor and get some tests done to see if it is reacquiring and if it is, get the paper work and report it on his next Medical. I told him this and then he told me he was afraid they would then want a full medical history. It seems back in grade school his teacher thought he was ADD and asked his parents to put him on medication. If he reports that he has controlled asthma will they then ask for a full medical history?

Gajre539

A close friend huh?

Question # 18 on the Airman Medical Form 8500-8 states, "Have you ever in your life been diagnosed with, had or do you presently have any of the following: f. Asthama or lung disease". I hope he didn't check mark 'No'.

He also signed the bottom which states, "All statements and or answers provided by me on this application form are complete and true to the best of my knowledge..."

If he flies alone and has a asthma attack, he might end up crashing the aircraft in a school or a mall and kill tens or hundreds of people.

My suggestion - tell him to see a doctor, get a full medical history and report it on the next medical.

Bri85

Im a commercial pilot- and I had asthma as a child last known symptom was at age 4. Everytime I get my medicals- I always check yes on the asthma question you have since is mandatory. The examiner will ask me and I tell him, I outgrew the asthma and havent had any symptons in 20 years or I could show him my medical records. I only had one problem once (1st time applying for a 1st class medical) in which the examiner ran a series of test to determine if I was asthmatic. heck, I smoke cigarettes now which Im trying to cut down.

As for you light wheezing, get that in check asap.

rickair7777

NO! NO! NO! NO!

DANGER!

Don't do this! Go read that medical form where it talks about federal felonies and prison time!

ADD is a HUGE deal with the FAA...if he did not report that when he got his first medical, he is in serious legal jeopardy if the FAA finds out. They won't be amused by the asthma either.

You friend needs to do one of two things...

- Walk away from aviation now, do not fly ever again, and allow his medical to lapse. Without an aviation incident (runway excursion, etc), the FAA would have no obvious reason to research his past. But if he keeps flying, something might eventually happen which would trigger an investigation. A pilot recently went to jail under very similar circumstances.

- Hire an aviation attorney who is familiar with aviation medicine, and try to figure out a safe way to sort things out with the FAA. The downside here is that both ADD and asthma will require that you jump through hoops to get a medical.

If he is serious about a career, the time to take care of this is now. If it comes up after he is a rated commercial pilot, it will be harder to deal and suspension of his medical while they resolve things would mean unemployment.

He could also just ignore the whole situation, keep lying on his medical, and hope it never comes up in the future. It all depends on how well he can sleep at night with that hanging over his head.

Gajre539

Rickair777, you are correct. Airman Medical Form 8500-8 does state that Intentional falsification may result in federal criminal prosecution and suspension or revocation of all airman, ground, medical certificates.

My 5 year old son coughs when he has allergies, it doesn't mean that he has Asthma unless he is diagnosed with it. He could simply say that he was never diagnosed with it, so he never know that he had it (assuming that he doesn't have any medical records that prove that he had asthma).

I think the keyword is intentional, but it all becomes subjective. If he knew he had asthma and lied about it, then I agree with you, hiring an aviation attorney is good advice.