The Federal Air Surgeon and You, The Pilot

By Charles P. Nicholson, Jr., M.D.

Sport Aviation, June 1998

A surgeon is a physician who specializes in treatment of disease by operating/conducting a surgical procedure. No doubt that anyone who has had difficulty in getting their Medical Certificate has thought they had been/were being "operated on" by the Federal Air Surgeon who is the person ultimately responsible for certification.

Nothing is to be gained by continuing to harangue as to the infinitesimally small number of accidents which might be related to sudden incapacitation. And such incapacitation often cannot be identified in the medical examination required for certification.

But we have to live with the system!

A review of the numbers in the system provides an idea of the tremendous task which the Aeromedical Certification Division encounters. Oklahoma City receives 470,000 applications per year (2,000 per work day). Fifty-five percent (1,100) are "rejected." Five hundred per day could be managed by an AME with appropriate documentation. 200 per day require only a simple error correction. There are 100 applications received daily which have been unnecessarily deferred by the AME.

The preceding paragraph is admittedly "busy." One point to emphasize, Examiners can do more to expedite the process of Certification. Increased use of the Aeromedical Certification Subsystem (AMCS) - a computer/modem system - will result in a remarkable reduction in errors and improvement in the data submitted to Oklahoma City. The staff at Oklahoma City is reduced in keeping with budgetary constraints. Knowing the time spent in correcting errors, one can easily understand why there are long delays in getting Special Issuances (SI) and similar issuances which require a concentrated process.

Following are some suggestions which you, the pilot, can do to reduce the time required for definitive action on applications requiring intensive study and effort.

• Identify an AME who is interested in and willing to help in getting your Medical Certificate. One who is on the roster of EAA/AME Pilot Advocates is highly recommended. For information, contact EAA Information Services (920/426-4800).

• Having identified an AME with whom you are comfortable, contact him/her and discuss potential difficulties - illness, medication, etc. Protocols are available for many situations and should be used as a checklist to assure everything required by the FAA is provided.

• When all necessary material is obtained, arrange to have the application completed and forward everything together to Oklahoma City. Avoid sending information to the FAA in piecemeal fashion!

In many situations a call by the AME to a Regional Flight Surgeon or to a physician at Oklahoma City will result in the AME being able to issue the certificate. In situations in which this is not feasible, be patient and check with the AME at reasonable intervals as to the status of the application.

Your EAA Aeromedical Advisory Council enjoys pleasant rapport with the FAA. The Council continues to seek:

• Increased latitude for the AME in issuance decisions.
• Valid date of a certificate requiring special handling by the FAA to be date of issuance rather than date of examination.
• Self-certification for sport pilots.

(Dr. Charles P. Nicholson, Jr., EAA 101988, Concord Regional Airport, 9000 Aviation Blvd., Ste 116, Concord, NC 28027, is a member of EAA’s Aeromedical Advisory Council and an Aviation Safety Counselor.)