Broken neck
Hi there,
I am a 25 year old Canadian Commercial Pilot (212 hours) with a restricted Class 1 medical, due to a snowmobile accident right after graduation from flight school in Moncton, NB, Canada(6 years ago), in which I broke my neck and suffered a subdural brain hematoma. Very lucky to be alive. In Feb 11', after waiting 6 years with lots of tests, doctor appointments and hoops to jump through for TC, I finally was allowed to go back and redo my medical. I sent the results in and after getting my CPL up to commercial standards by Dec 11', I received a letter saying that I was allowed a "RESTRICTED" class 1 Medical and license. This restriction states this;
a) You must be accompanied by another pilot who holds an unrestricted, medically valid pilot license with the appropriate category,class and rating for the intended flight;
b) the accompanying pilot must have had incapacitation training;
c) aircraft must be equipped with dual controls
d)a suitable means of restraint, to prevent interference with the flight controls, must be available in the event that you become incapacitation;
and
e)If you act as the pilot of an aircraft for hire or reward you must have informed your employer of the above conditions.
I had called them to ask how long the restriction would be on my medical and license. They said it was usually 2 years of "uneventful" flying, but they did not give a set amount of "uneventful" flying hours that had to be done within the 2 years that can get the restriction taken off. I can apply for a Class 3 medical, but that wouldn't do me any good for commercial.
Needless to say, it's a battle to get this cleared. I am a healthy, young, very lucky man. Is there any advice about how to go about this situation? Any words would be greatly appreciated. I plan on calling tomorrow and seeing if I can get some more answers. It's always a long process when dealing with Transport Canada, especially since the head doctor retired while my case was going on. Anyways, hopefully hear from you all soon. Sorry for the huge story.