Says Agency Needs To Monitor Medical Histories, Dependency Issues

In a new round of safety recommendations announced Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board says the FAA should keep a close watch for possible medical and criminal issues with pilots as they undergo aeromedical evaluations.

The recommendations -- available in full at the FMI link below -- suggest the FAA ensure that any airman undergoing a medical evaluation following a traffic conviction or administrative action that is required to be reported in the FAA Application for Airman Medical Certificate, be required to provide a complete copy of the relevant arrest report and/or court records. Those records should also be placed in the airman's FAA medical file prior to clinical evaluation for certification, the NTSB states.

The NTSB also states a copy of an airman's complete medical record (including relevant arrest and court records) on file in the Aerospace Medical Certification Division be provided to any individual performing a clinical evaluation of that airman related to the airman's application for a medical certificate for the purpose of establishing, ruling out, or monitoring a history or diagnosis of substance dependence, prior to the completion of such an evaluation.

Finally, the Board also suggests the FAA require all airmen clinically diagnosed with substance dependence (including dependence on alcohol), who are medically certified by the FAA subsequent to such diagnosis, be closely followed under guidelines for special issuance of medical certificates for the period that they hold such certificates.

FMI: Read The Full Safety Recommendation Report (.pdf)