Proposed Changes Abandoned, Unintended Consequences Avoided

The National Business Aviation Association released a statement commending the FAA on its decision to withdraw its proposal announced late last year to change the long-standing policy of deferring incomplete medical applications to outright denials. The change would have led to long-term negative implications on pilots’ careers.

Under the proposed change, a pilot who submitted a medical certificate application without full exam results or other information needed for the FAA to review a given condition, would have been issued a denial rather than the current policy of getting a deferral and 60-day letter to provide the information.

The move was intended to reduce the FAA’s backlog of medical applications. However, as the NBAA and numerous other aviation groups noted, issuance of a denial would have significantly increased the amount of pilot confusion as well as unintended consequences for pilots including negative ramifications for employment.

The proposed change was scheduled to go into effect in January but the strenuous feedback from NBAA and other organizations led to the FAA postponing it until March. And now the proposed change has been entirely abandoned.

Doug Carr, NBAA’s Senior Vice President of Safety, Security, Sustainability and International Affairs said, “We commend the FAA for its decision to withdraw the proposal after considering input from NBAA and others regarding the potential negative impact on pilots. We believe there are more effective approaches to assist the agency in addressing the backlog of medical certificate applications, and we are eager to collaborate with the FAA and other stakeholders on alternative solutions.”

In a discussion session with stakeholders, Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup described the challenges faced by the FAA in evaluating medical applications and some of the steps the agency is taking to streamline and modernize the process.

The NBAA and industry and pilot groups have come up with a checklist to help facilitate the AME’s exam and the FAA review:

• Compile a detailed medical history and list of all prescription and non-prescription medications you are taking.
• Review your medical history and medication list against the FAA’s medical history questions and the FAA Do Not Fly/Do Not Issue List.
• For questions, concerns, or discrepancies, consult your Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) or pilot advocacy group prior to submitting your medical application.
• Bring all documentation to your medical appointment.

Carr added, “We appreciate the significant FAA efforts to update the pilot medical process and look forward to our continued collaboration. Additionally, it’s important that pilots recognize the need to arrive as prepared for their medical exams as they do for their checkrides and other evaluations.”

FMI:  nbaa.org/