for those without acrobat reader heres the page
JAA Medical Subcommittee (MSC) News 2001
See below for a summary of the meetings of the committee and the principal decisions.
For last year’s news see Information/General or click on MSC News in 2000.
March 2001
This meeting mainly discussed changes to the ophthalmology requirements. No consensus
could be reached, and further discussion was deferred to the next meeting (see below).
June 2001
Again, the major topic of discussion was the ophthalmology requirements and the MSC
eventually agreed the changes, but by majority voting. They are summarised below.
However, before they become formally incorporated into JAR FCL 3 (Medical) they need to
be promulgated as a ‘Notice of Proposed Amendment’ (NPA) so that individuals and
organisations can comment. Such comments will be taken into account by the MSC (and
the Flight Crew Licensing Committee, which can overrule a MSC decision) and the proposals
adjusted as necessary. After that there are some legal and administrative procedures to be
followed by the JAA before the new standards become formally incorporated as Joint
Aviation Requirements. This process can take up to two years, particularly for a
controversial subject like ophthalmology. It might be possible for earlier implementation to
occur by the issuance of a ‘Temporary Guidance Leaflet’, but this is unlikely as there was not
unanimous support for the proposed changes. The question of timescales for
implementation will be discussed at the next MSC meeting in late August.
A summary of the proposed Ophthalmology Requirements is given below (note that these
are proposals - see the appropriate Medical Division web pages for the current
requirements).
JAA Class 1 initial:
+5/- 5 dioptres (no requirement for stability)
2 dioptres astigmatism
2 dioptres anisometropia
Refractive surgery: acceptable with a pre-operative refraction between +5 and
-5 dioptres (the UK is already accepting applicants up to these limits with a
good result a year after surgery)
JAA Class 1 revalidation/renewal:
+5/-8 dioptres (an initial applicant between –5 and –8 dioptres cannot gain a
Class 1 certificate, even if stable)
3 dioptres astigmatism
3 dioptres anisometropia
Class 1 holders over 40 years must have an extended eye examination every two
years by an optometrist (or an ophthalmologist if correction is greater than –5 dioptres
or uncorrected visual acuity is worse than 6/60). For pilots under 40 years this two
yearly examination is required for certificate holders who wear glasses or contact
lenses to meet the requirements. Currently the UK CAA is happy for AMEs to do
these examinations (see ‘What’s New’ item on Comprehensive Eye and
Ear/Nose/Throat Examinations)
JAA Class 2 initial:
+5/-8 dioptres
3 dioptres astigmatism
3 dioptres anisometropia
Refractive surgery: acceptable with pre-operative refraction between +5 and -8
dioptres
JAA Class 2 revalidation/renewal:
+5/-8 dioptres
Astigmatism – no limit
Anisometropia – no limit
The UK argued for more relaxed requirements than those stated above, but was
unsuccessful. UK CAA policy changes will be announced on these web pages when
timescales have been agreed for implementation and the exact requirements have been
accepted.
Other items discussed included the relaxation of the limits for Class 1 certificate holders who
develop aortic stenosis (narrowing of the main valve in the heart). There was a long
discussion on psychology requirements, but ultimately no changes were proposed.
Three states brought cases to the committee where the UK had issued initial Class 1
medical certificates to applicants who, according to the three states, did not meet the
standards in JAR-FCL 3. There will be further discussion about this at the next meeting.
However, it may become more of a problem since (in June 2001) the FCL committee
approved NPA 14. This contains the requirement (JAR-FCL 3.065) that all applicants for a
licence must have their initial medical done in the state of licence issue. Thus applicants
may (quite correctly) do an initial medical in their home state before starting to train. If,
subsequently, they decide to train (and eventually apply for a licence) in another JAA state,
they would have to take another initial medical examination in the ‘training’ state. What
would happen if there was a disagreement between the two states over an applicant’s
fitness? Which state would decide? The UK CAA Medical Division feels that amendments
to the regulations, if they do not effect flight safety, should simplify the certification process,
rather than make it more complicated.
July 2001
woohoo!!
[ 28 November 2001: Message edited by: rahaney ]