Fainting

[BGO]

Recently, I fainted for the first time in my life. Until now the reason is not clear. According to JAR-FCL 3.210 and appendix 11 this is disqualifying. Is there any pilot on the forum who knows how this appendix is used in practice.

Thank you in advance.

BGO

[SIBUK]

Hello BGO!

First of all I must tell you that I am not a Pilot and I am neither a Doctor nor an AME. However I am in the process of trying to pass my first ever medical and I have a potentially disqualifying condition which has caused me to spend a lot of time doing research into disqualifying conditions and talking to AME's. I am a bit nervous about posting this because Im not fully sure this is what you asked for and I dont want to get any false hope up so read on only if you understand that please!

From what I have learnt (which incidentally was mainly FAA and Transport Canada related, but im sure JAA is similar) if you have suffered from something that is classed as a disqualifying condition then it still may be possible to pass your medical if you can show that you have recovered well and that it isnt going to happen again (found the cause)

I did a bit of nosying around and under JAR-FCL 3.210 and although I couldnt find any direct mention to fainting I found this:

• A history of one or more episodes of disturbance of consciousness of uncertain cause is disqualifying. In case of a single episode of such disturbance of consciousness, which can be satisfactorily explained, a fit assessment may be considered by the AMS, but a recurrence is normally disqualifying.

Similarly for the FAA I found this:

• One or two episodes of dizziness or even fainting may not be disqualifying. For example, dizziness upon suddenly arising when ill is not a true dysfunction. Likewise, the orthostatic faint associated with moderate anemia is no threat to aviation safety as long as the individual is temporarily disqualified until the anemia is corrected.
• An unexplained disturbance of consciousness is disqualifying under the medical standards. Because a disturbance of consciousness may be expected to be totally incapacitating, individuals with such histories pose a high risk to safety and must be denied or deferred by the Examiner. If the cause of the disturbance is explained and a loss of consciousness is not likely to recur, then medical certification may be possible.

You can read more here:
http://www.jaa.nl/publications/jars/606984.pdf
and here:
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/...ech/item46/et/

I hope that all goes well for you BGO. Please let me know how it goes.

[bunting]

BGO, I'm in the same boat mate.

10 hours so far and failed medical on ectopic heart beat. Had all the tests (ecg, exercise ecg, scan, all successful) but mentioned that I had fainted twice. Both reasonable explanations to do with low blood pressure at the time, virus infection, etc.
I now have an anxious wait for the post to come back with the killer punch. I'm hopeful CAA will see it for what it is, a fluke occurrence, twice! Not sure how much a neurological report would run to, but if it isn't too much, I might consider it.

[gingernut]

"Fainting," is quite a loose term used by patients, I wonder if it might be advantageous to be clear about what exactly happened, prior to you discussing it with your AME?

Clearly, you shouldn't fly until you have discussed this with the authorities.

[BGO]

Thank you for the replies.

Until now, I have not received new information from the AME. As soon as I have news, I let you know.

@Gingernut:
Fainting is a short disturbance of consiousness while all primary reflexes of the body remain active (approx. 10-30 seconds).

[StillStanding]

2 faints and you are out

Sorry to hear your news. I was 2/3rds of the way through a PPL course when I fainted. 3 months later I fainted again. On the first occasion I grounded myself and consulted my GP and AME. It took months of tests and scans and no problem was found.

However without an explanation of the cause I found that the definition of epilepsy seems to be 'more than one unexplained loss of awareness'. This led to a Catch 22 situation where to get a sign-off just to drive again after a year off I had to agree to the 'epilepsy' classification and take the drugs.

Fortunately for me (as I was only seeking recreational flying) I was able to complete my PPL as an NPPL and now have a restricted licence.

[bunting]

Received my Class II medical certificate in the post yesterday. Overjoyed and relieved to say the least.
CAA took my explanations for the two fainting episodes to be completely satisfactory. So can't wait to get back up in the air!!!!!!!!!!