Colour Blindness and Indian Medicals

[constellaton]

hi,

i recently appeared for dgca class 2 medicals and realised i had some form of colour blindness.

the class2 medical examiner advised that i have failed my medicals due to the condition. but india follows ICAO rules and according to them there are more tests to be conducted to determine the degree of colour blindness and after that a candiate is advised if he has met the standards for colour perception set by ICAO or if he is unfit.

my medical examiner had no knowledge about it and said that he had not seen anyone passing medicals with colour blindness with dgca.

is there anyone who had the same condition and is either flying or has class 1 medicals with dgca. can someone please shed some light to this issue and advise what can be done!!!!

cheers

[bad_attitude]

what does the doc suggest you do?

i have no idea about the appeal procedure for a Class II medical.

[flightknight]

SORRY : There is no appeal structure in India. If you did your medical with a DGCA authorized doctor, you can always go in for a second opinion medical. But if the medical was conducted by an AME its pretty much a closed case. There are career pilots flying in other countries with decades of safety who have failed DGCA medicals. Its another 1934 regulation followed in Indian Aviation.

[9Ws]

There are different levels of Colour Blindness. All you need to know is if you are "Defective-Safe" or in Aviation Medical terms : CP III (Colour Perception 3). This is the ICAO standard applied by the Indian Air Force doctors at all their Medical Centres all over India. The eye technician, the Ophthalmologist and the officer/doctor doing your final General Medical all know this assessment as it is given to all Civil pilots who come to them for medicals and are Colour Perception "Defective-Safe". Failing the 24-plate Ishihara test is an immediate fail for any pilots wanting to join the Air Force as pilots (not your case).

You are first assessed using the 24-plate Ishihara test. If you make 4 or more mistakes on that test, you are then required to do a "Lantern Test". This could be the Farnsworth Lantern Test or the Edridge-Green Lantern Test where you are required to identify individual colours as they are displayed to you using vaied levels of background light and aperture settings. A pass on the lantern test will give you a "Colour Perception Defective-Safe (CP III)" assessment which is fine and ok for a Class 1 medical for the DGCA who will later on give you a final medical Assessment on paper. This assessment will remain in your Permanent Medical Records (PMR) forever and every medical renewal you do thereafter will indicate to the doctor/technician doing your test that you need to do the Lantern test for Colour Vision after doing the Ishihara (book) test.

Not sure of your level of colour blindness, but I am of the opinion that all is not lost for you. Get the Lantern test done at any private Ophthalmologist to figure out if you pass that. Then take that report back to the doctor who did your Class 2 medical and advise him of the IAF/DGCA/ICAO colour perception standards and ask him to redo your medical and forward your file to the DGCA for the final Assessment of the IAF doctor who sits at the DGCA office for this purpose.

If you live in Mumbai and require the reference of an Ophthalmologist, go to Dr.M.D.Oomrigar at Dinar Bldg, Santacruz (W) Station Road. He is also an Air India panel doctor.
Dr. M. D. Oomrigar, Santacruz West, Mumbai - asklaila (http://www.asklaila.com/listing/Mumbai/Santacruz+West/Dr.+M.+D.+Oomrigar/1FpE3d1t/)


Good luck and hope you are awarded a PASS! :ok:

[constellaton]

thanks for your info 9ws.

well wud you knw if the fainsworth lantern test is the final test coz as per the ICAO rules there is also a practical light gun test.with this test you just go to any airport and they will flash you different light signals and you have to identify the correct colours. well not sure if they do this test in india or not.
but i will visit the opthalmologist and get the fainsworth lantern test and see wat happens...

cheers

[haree]

Class 2 and Class 1 will accept Color Deficiency but not Color blindness. I'm color Deficient but i had my class 1 (Didnt care to renew yet).

IF your Class 2 doc was an ex IAF doc then as someone said its pretty much a closed case file.. If not re take the tests with someone who was in the forces.

Haree

[bad_attitude]

flightknight, there is an appeal structure if you get an Unfit in Class I medicals.

Pg. No. 10

MEDICAL RULES AND REGULATIONS (http://www.dgca.nic.in/medical/med-rule-ind.htm)

[getsetgo]

i thought FLIGHTNIGHT knows the DGCA rules
(he starts lots of threads along with his buddies)
thanks bad attitute to enlighten FLIGHTNIGHT daytime.

the apeal is fundamental right for citizens of the country.

[constellaton]

heya haree

well i can differentiate between colours. well i m not completely colour blind and guess according to you tat is wat is colour deficient.
when i went for my class2 i got more than 4 numbers wrong on the ishihara plate test and opthalmologist advised tat you are unfit . but according to the rules there is more to it as mentioned in previous threads as well

did u go thro some additional testin and if yes wat sort of testing was it....

[haree]

hey constellation...

Im not sure about that but I did a farnsworth lantern at Bangalore Class 1 centre 2 yrs back. and My strike rate was 21/24 so i was amiss at 3 sheets of the ishihara plates. So i really cant comment on your situation and the Class 2 doc.

But a fact i can share is that when i went for Class 2 I was unable to read only one sheet of Ishihara but the doc asked me to identify the point of differential colors which i did and she gave me a thumbs up in color perception and 4 months later during my Class 1 i was declared color deficient. Its funny so i'd suggest you do a detailed color blindness test with one of the leading eye hospitals in your area and then get a class 2 done again (in case you havent sent the reports to DGCA) or make an appeal

Haree

[jerrydenim]

Hello All,

I'm currently working as an captain for an American regional airline and I am considering a move to India with the wife who has family in India. I have a valid unrestricted FAA 1st class medical but I do possess something know as "a letter of competence" due to a slight color deficiency. Generally I don't fare so well on color vision tests ( I've tried most all of them) but I see all of the important colors and I score quite well of some of the Ishihara plate sets. Its a little complicated but my "letter of competence" IS NOT a S.O.D.A (statement of demonstrated ability) my L.O.C. is in fact the opposite the opposite of a SODA. My letter from the FAA serves as proof to any incredulous AME's that my color vision meets all the requirements for a First Class medical and as long as I am otherwise healthy cannot be denied a first class medical, nor will I be required to demonstrate my color vision again since my ability to see the "required and necessary colors for safe flight" has been demonstrated and extensively documented to the satisfaction of the FAA.

That being said does anybody in India care in the least about my letter from the FAA? Do I have to receive a DGCA medical to fly in India? Can I work with a FAA 1st class medical? Is there any Indian equivalent to a SODA or a letter of competence? There is a chance I could squeak through a Indian medical depending on the method or the set of plates being used, but any extensive prehire medical would easily reveal my weakness. Am I screwed? Should I bother? I've had people laugh in my face before concerning my color vision/pilot ambitions so I don't take "no" easily.

Many thanks to anyone in the know on this, medical examiners in my own country are usually misinformed on this matter so I realize this question is either really simple or incredibly complicated.

[haree]

Dear Capt Jerry

IF you are going to work on your FAA licence in india on expat terms you will not require to do indian medicals. As long as your FAA med+lic is current you are fit to fly in india as long as your employer wants you to.

Haree

[constellaton]

hey harree

well actually i got class1 medicals here in australia and obviously i had colour perception problems when i went for my medicals. well but here when i failed da ishihara test i appeared for fainswort lantern test and i think i got 4 wrong out of 16(cant remember exactly)and da doctor advised that i can still take one more test whcih is practical signal test.
wat this test is basically tat they will shoot different light signals frm da control tower and i hav to identify them correctly and u r given class1 medicals witout any restrictions.
and australia actually follows ICAO procedures for medicals and so does india as per the CAR's. well but when i nxt go to india i wud definitely give a shot at fainsworth lantern test and see wat happens.


and i guess if capt jerry is reading this he is in da same situation as i am. i hav a class1 for oz but not fit for indian medicals. but i guess jerry this can still be manipulated and the best way to find out is to go to india and appear for medicals and i m not too sure if u dont need to convert ur licence to work in india.

[Ragul8056]

can anyone say where i can take larnten test in india i already have canadian class 1 medicals but with restriction to day light flying alone ... so pls help me ...:{:confused:

[Ragul8056]

can anyone suggest where can i find opthamologist with lantern test facility in india i am having canadian class 1 with night flying restriction..

[prajit]

Hi All,

Even I had given my class II medical test and found out that I was colour deficient. I have never had any problems in my life with the colours and it was shock to hear it.
It's been 7 years and still I'm not able to give up my dream of being a pilot. Recently I cam across the information that isihara test is not the only one. You can try assessing yourself by the lantern test and the recent one Colour Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD) test.
I had spoken to one of the Doctor in Mumbai, who is the only one in India has the CAD test available. He suggested me to do a complete check of colour blindness test's which would cost around 7K and you can come to know if you are still fit to fly. Below is the link for the same and also some articles for good read.
Colour Blindness Test | Sanjeevan (http://sanjeevan.in/colour-blindness-test/)
New Color Blindness Tests Sets Minimal Requirements for Professional Flight Crew | Colblindor (http://www.color-blindness.com/2010/02/21/new-color-blindness-tests-sets-minimal-requirements-for-professional-flight-crew/)
CVD Pilots - Color Exams (http://new.cvdpilots.com/standards/exams)
https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiS2tGG8c7LAhXPGI4KHVvuCEEQFggnMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icao.int%2Fsafety%2Faviation-medicine%2Fguidelines%2FColour%2520is%2520in%2520the%2520eye %2520of%2520the%2520beholder%2520-Ahmed%2520(1).pdf&usg=AFQjCNGa2OPjR5u6u3Ylbq5lZdvtoF84fg&sig2=l50J35pPWJdMT0B__VosJA&bvm=bv.117218890,d.c2E

Colour Vision Defective Pilots Association (CVDPA) (http://www.cvdpa.com/)

Hope this helps. I'm planning to give soon. Even if I get cleared, I do not that, in India, you can't fly as DGCA is still an old school. But in Australia and US you can.