Nearly 5,000 Commercial Pilots Are Under Investigation For Hiding Health Problems

[Longtimer]

Please move if this belongs elsewhere.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/nearly-5-000-commercial-pilots-161500247.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

[Ollie Onion]

Isn’t it about time that we admit that Pilot medicals are outdated and just not required. I know two people personally who dropped dead from cardiac issues within 6 months of their latest medical. The UK completed a study around five years ago to say that despite all the medical hoops we are subject to the incidence of ‘incapacitating medical events’ amongst professional pilots was statistically no different to the general population. Medical should be the same as for a driver licence, if your GP signs you off you should be good to go.

[GlobalNav]

Isn’t it about time that we admit that Pilot medicals are outdated and just not required. I know two people personally who dropped dead from cardiac issues within 6 months of their latest medical. The UK completed a study around five years ago to say that despite all the medical hoops we are subject to the incidence of ‘incapacitating medical events’ amongst professional pilots was statistically no different to the general population. Medical should be the same as for a driver licence, if your GP signs you off you should be good to go.
Disagree, but I understand most on this forum would agree.

What needs to be updated is the breadth, depth and integrity of aviation medical examinations. The system as it is is too loose and ineffective.

Of course, FAA pilot regulation is made by those who sympathize more with pilots than with public safety. Another case of a system of delegated authority with ineffective oversight.

[Lonewolf_50]

Longtimer: how about you change your misleading headline?
And remember: a half truth is also half a lie.

Of the 4,800 pilots under investigation, half have had their files closed by the FAA, but 600 passenger aircraft pilots remain under investigation.
Did you bother to read the entire article? I did.

[421dog]

Disagree, but I understand most on this forum would agree.

What needs to be updated is the breadth, depth and integrity of aviation medical examinations. The system as it is is too loose and ineffective.

Of course, FAA pilot regulation is made by those who sympathize more with pilots than with public safety. Another case of a system of delegated authority with ineffective oversight.

I’m personally insulted as a Senior FAA AME by your comments.

You realize that this ‘Investigation’ was simply cross-referencing the database of military veterans who were claiming disability benefits, mostly for PTSD, which the Veterans Administration pushed them to claim, with the FAA 8500-8 database which asks (not verbatim) “Are you disabled?”

A “disabled” veteran who wants to be a pilot can’t simply say “I don’t want my $400/month disability benefit anymore, because I’m a gainfully employed individual without psychiatric issues now that I’m back from the sand pit”…
But go ahead, blame the FAA, (and explicitly accuse all of us AME’s who sure as heck aren’t doing this on the government tit, of a lack of integrity)
We do our (basically voluntary) jobs to the highest standards, and to the best of our abilities….

[20driver]

I’m personally insulted as a Senior FAA AME by your comments.

But go ahead, blame the FAA, (and explicitly accuse all of us AME’s who sure as heck aren’t doing this on the government tit, of a lack of integrity)
We do our (basically voluntary) jobs to the highest standards, and to the best of our abilities….

I have no problem with any of the doctors that did my third class medicals but being an AME is not a bad gig. Rather lucrative. The guy who did the medicals at my local airport used the airport provided office and would rake it in. 10 years ago my third class was $125 cash and he did 100 people on a Sunday. I signed in at 0930 and was #48. I was out by 10:00. Most were Continental pilots getting a 1st class who I think paid $300.
As for the article it made no sense to me. Common knowledge that the FAA has being cross referencing disability claims. As they do DUI's.

[ahwalk01]

Right so being lucrative is some kind of code.

Just pay the £ and sit in the corner and colour.

You're not paid to think. Remember that.

[Radgirl]

Isn’t it about time that we admit that Pilot medicals are outdated and just not required

Yes they are outdated. Non commercial medicals are becoming less common. I would argue commercial medicals need to use modern technology more. More carotid ultrasound, more coronary CT. However the big issue is that the regulators themselves admit they cant keep up with changing healthcare and changes to life expectancy because they dont have the money to develop new policy.

[tdracer]

As for the article it made no sense to me. Common knowledge that the FAA has being cross referencing disability claims. As they do DUI's.

It makes perfect sense if you simply remember it's "click bait".

[Longtimer]

read the article of course, the headline is from the story and in actual fact it is accurate in that 4800 is nearly 5000.
another title could read :The Federal Aviation Administration is probing nearly 5,000 pilots who allegedly falsified their medical records to hide medical issues that could impact their ability to fly safely.

[421dog]

I have no problem with any of the doctors that did my third class medicals but being an AME is not a bad gig. Rather lucrative. The guy who did the medicals at my local airport used the airport provided office and would rake it in. 10 years ago my third class was $125 cash and he did 100 people on a Sunday. I signed in at 0930 and was #48. I was out by 10:00. Most were Continental pilots getting a 1st class who I think paid $300.
As for the article it made no sense to me. Common knowledge that the FAA has being cross referencing disability claims. As they do DUI's.

You are not adding much to the level of discourse here…
The “cross referencing” of DUIs is actually a query of the driver database (which is why you check the box that says you aren’t lying on the 8500-8)
The real cross referencing of the pilot database and theVA database just happened within the past year or so and was a new one-off initiative.

Your assertion that an AME did “100 medicals on a Sunday” is absurd

The simplest third class takes at least 30 minutes to perform and another 15 to enter into AMCS, so you’re good for about 1.25 medicals/hr.

Stop making stuff up…

[20driver]

I was there and you were not. so you are not adding anything. He operated 0800 - 1200 every Sunday. I signed in at 0930, was # 48 on the sheet. I was out by 10:00. The sign in sheet was numbered. I was impressed.
As for 30 minutes to do a third class medical, not on this planet. Pulse, urine screen, vision and review the form. I have done at least 6 and not one took more than 10 minutes and that was 3 different AME's. Even taking time for Neal Nadler's jokes it was quick.
A query is a cross reference is my book.

[Loose rivets]

6M'ly for me was a pseudo-friendly welcome. Paperwork already on its way as I was invited to stand on the scales. A height measuring thingy was fastened to the back of the scales and a sliding bar, all in the same polished wood, slapped down onto my crown. If he caught me on the apex, I was 6' 7" but during the downward deceleration, 4' 6". Okay, a slight exaggeration, but it really was bewildering that the real quite large fluctuations were never picked up by the powers that be.

"Custom, on the first day of every" Nice clear small print on an ivory block zoomed down to my nose. "Good, good, you're better than some of the people 40 years your junior."

[dr dre]

Isn’t it about time that we admit that Pilot medicals are outdated and just not required.

This isn’t a case of outdated or onerous aviation medical requirements. It’s a case of potential welfare fraud, pilots who were drawing a disability pension from the US military for mental or physical health issues, some of them claiming 100% disability, but those issues were not disclosed in an aviation medical.

It’s double dipping, and downplaying of the severity of the issues to one authority whilst exaggerating them to another for personal gain.

If they are genuinely disabled then they should receive compensation and treatment for their condition. However this must also be disclosed to the regulator and may affect their ability to hold a medical.

Seriously how can one claim a disability pension but also hold an unrestricted aviation medical? A disability pension is there to support those who are genuinely unable to work, not those who are actively working as commercial pilots. This isn’t just a simple mistake or error, this seems to be deliberate welfare fraud. They are stealing from the taxpayer.

[WillowRun 6-3]

Yes they are outdated. Non commercial medicals are becoming less common. I would argue commercial medicals need to use modern technology more. More carotid ultrasound, more coronary CT. However the big issue is that the regulators themselves admit they cant keep up with changing healthcare and changes to life expectancy because they dont have the money to develop new policy.

Well, but there is growing awareness of the need for better medical-related data, especially focused on policy questions with regard to mandatory retirement age, perhaps even emerging consensus. Aligned with the need for better, more comprehensive, and more readily accessible (and usable) data is the need for better medical assessments, particularly given advances in wellness initiatives and greater life expectancy. (I'm not ignorant of pilots sometimes pursuing lifestyle habits not quite in the wellness category, but I'm ignoring it for this post.)

At the pretty wide-ranging and well-attended ICAO conference going on now, one panel today addressed the subject of Age Limitations. All six panelists were seriously deeply versed in aviation medicine, or were senior pilots - some both. With the legislative controversy pending in United States but not only for that reason, I think the odds are improving for regulators to wise up and accelerate the pressure for required funding. (It was, by the way, a superb panel.)

[421dog]

I was there and you were not. so you are not adding anything. He operated 0800 - 1200 every Sunday. I signed in at 0930, was # 48 on the sheet. I was out by 10:00. The sign in sheet was numbered. I was impressed.
As for 30 minutes to do a third class medical, not on this planet. Pulse, urine screen, vision and review the form. I have done at least 6 and not one took more than 10 minutes and that was 3 different AME's. Even taking time for Neal Nadler's jokes it was quick.
A query is a cross reference is my book.

it is not physically possible to perform the required elements of a third class medical in less than 15-20 minutes.

you are bloviating.

i do this as a service to the aviation community as do most of my AME colleagues. Trust me, we’re not in it for the money, I’ve got a real job to pay the bills…

[421dog]

20driver, It would behoove you to review your personal messages, and consider your course moving forward, as there is likely a bad ending in store, which you have brought on yourself, and which some of us are unfortunately federally mandated to pursue…

[Lonewolf_50]

This isn’t a case of outdated or onerous aviation medical requirements. It’s a case of potential welfare fraud, pilots who were drawing a disability pension from the US military for mental or physical health issues, some of them claiming 100% disability, but those issues were not disclosed in an aviation medical.

It’s double dipping, and downplaying of the severity of the issues to one authority whilst exaggerating them to another for personal gain.

If they are genuinely disabled then they should receive compensation and treatment for their condition. However this must also be disclosed to the regulator and may affect their ability to hold a medical.

Seriously how can one claim a disability pension but also hold an unrestricted aviation medical? A disability pension is there to support those who are genuinely unable to work, not those who are actively working as commercial pilots. This isn’t just a simple mistake or error, this seems to be deliberate welfare fraud. They are stealing from the taxpayer. How the VA calculates (via a points system) a disability payments percentage I won't get into here, but I think your instinct that someone is gaming the system is on the right track.
Which, all said and done, leaves the headline to be wide of the mark.

[MissChief]

Apocryphal story (true) of a chap who had just passed his Class 1 CAA medical who collapsed and died, suffering a heart attack as he left the examiner's office. So much for his ECG. So much for the medical. And yet what more could be done? Of greatest importance is to run 6-monthly sim checks from Day One on FO's, allowing them to demonstrate their abilities to deal with an incapacitated captain. And vice versa.

[illusion]

Not the point. They are either:
1. Healthy and defrauding your health system ;or
2. Unfit to fly because of health issues associated with military service for which they are receiving benefits.

Either way they will not be treated well in the courts.