Improvements to Documentation Review, Updated Treatment Approvals Improve Pilot’s Career Prospects

"This past week saw several significant meetings and announcements", said the EAA regarding recent pilot medical certification issues.

Recent interest in the greater cultural zeitgeist has put particular focus on the handling of mental health issues, an issue the group says has been a long-term interest (though one must caution the industry as to how the FAA bungled the Bob Hoover case many years ago). The recent FAA Aerospace Medical Certification Summit saw the attendance of EAA's Advisory Council chair and co-chairs, Dr. Steve Leonard and Dr. John Owen. The pair were joined by EAA Government Relations Director Tom Charpentier. The summit saw a host of stakeholders, with everything from FAA medical staff, aerospace medical examiners, and representatives of the pilot community.

This year’s summit provided FAA Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup and Deputy Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Brett Wyrick a chance to update the industry on where their arm of the FAA stands. First off, they "acknowledged a chronic backlog in processing applications, a problem they blamed on staffing shortages and increasing complexity in the cases they review. A new system will allow AMEs to directly upload documentation, helping out FAA personnel as they gain a more comprehensive and up-to-date overview of any given medical exemption.

The EAA crew pushed for additional clarity on "FAA communications with airmen, and the need for more timely and detailed information on the FAA’s online system for checking application status," when it came time to voice their own concerns. They also pushed on-theme, citing the "need for continued advancement in the area of the FAA and industry addressing the mental health of pilots and others in our community."

The consistent concern in mental health issues and aviators remains the overarching hesitance towards seeking care, given the tremendous stakes in play should a pilot lose their medical certificate. Those with some types of flyable mental issues in their medical history additionally suffer from "needless grounding and long certification delays", added the team. The EAA has an optimistic view of mental care, saying "the vast majority of cases eventually “get to yes” even with the system’s drawbacks, and early intervention is best". They also note that counseling visits in the absence of a medical diagnosis are not legally reportable to the FAA."

FMI: www.eaa.org