a) Sorry, everybody…Help me down from this damn soapbox
b) But seriously, I meant to emphasize not so much that everything they do is quackery but that because establishing that one is not, in fact, subject to worrisome behavioral maladies is difficult and not clear-cut, the people who get caught up in this — with the burden of proof being dumped in their own lap — it’s a situation that really does suck.
Yes.
And yet, that is the situation.
Hence the existence of specialist AME’s to help pilots jump through the bureaucratic hoops.
“A”, I understand that and “B”, I totally agree with it. Unfortunately, it appears they have gone beyond that and are actually stonewalling him. That I don’t agree with.
A few months went by. Michael called many times, and no one would help him. He received another letter. It said that they needed a letter from his therapist that says he no longer takes the meds. Good news! Well, not so fast. Michael said he received another letter from the FAA. Now they are wanting all the notes & transcripts that were written down by the therapist during the counseling sessions. The therapist said she will not hand them over. (I don’t blame her – I wouldn’t either.)
A professional stated that the young man was fit. Now, they want to violate doctor/patient confidentiality by asking for private details that, as amateurs, they aren’t even fit to judge?
Not defending certain parts of this over-bureaucratic process, but the medical package the specialist AME will prepare that includes the diagnostic notes from the therapist will go to the FAA flight surgeon team in Oklahoma City. I am not saying they are looking at this through a modern lens, but it is a team of doctors that review these packages.
Very few people can’t obtain FAA medical certification. The initial determination is made by a designated FAA Aviation Medical Examiner (AME), however, the Aerospace Medical Certification Division of the FAA in Oklahoma City makes the final decision. Any decision made may be appealed. The most successful appeals are made by providing medical documentation which demonstrates flight fitness. Rarely will an FAA decision be reversed without some medical evidence.
In addition to the poor odds, legal appeals are costly and quite lengthy. Most pilots who are refused medical certification are actually eligible for certification but have simply failed to provide adequate documentation. Make no mistake, there are bureaucratic challenges, however, the standards are quite liberal and those who persevere are likely to be victorious
https://www.leftseat.com/faa-medical-certification-aerospace-medicine-dr-erwin-samuelson/
It sounds to me that he hasn’t actually been denied a certificate. At least, not yet. If that’s true, Basic Med might still work.
I’m a commercial glider pilot and am not required to have any medical certification. I self-certify that I am unaware that I have any condition that would make me unsafe to fly. There is no form that has to be signed. Rather, by flying the glider you have implicitly self-certified for each flight. If you have an accident and it could be proven that you had a condition that made you unsafe for flight and you knew it, your certificate could be suspended or revoked. I’m assuming this is true whether or not the condition had anything at all to do with the accident. We have several club members who are former power pilots, private to ATP, and can’t pass the medical or don’t want to bother with the hassle.
If there are any glider clubs near you (visit www.ssa.org for that info), ask him to consider that option. Flying gliders is great fun and as challenging as you want to make it. It much more than just gliding back to the ground. More than one former military pilot has told me that’s its the closest thing to flying a fighter that you can do. Maybe a bit if an exaggeration but they meant it. Single seat (not always), great visibility, snug cockpit, flying near or even above the clouds. You can fly for hours without re-fueling. Plus, its quiet! Also, much cheaper than flying power. Certainly, worth consideration.