MEDICALS. NB Changes to JAR-FCL 3
 

Just received some interesting news from my union. At a meeting of the JAA at the end of October, 2005. Held in Hoofddorp in the Netherlands, a large package of new measure was agreed to relating to our medical requirements. They all imply a loosing up of many of the stiff regulations that are contained in JAR-FCL 3. Some of the changes are:

1) Pilot above age 40 seeking a renewal of their class 1 medical will only have to be medically tested every 12 months instead of the previous 6 months.
2) The eyesight requirements will become a lot less rigid. No exact details mentioned. But I know at my company alone there are about a 150 guys who are very relieved.
3) Colour-blind tests will no longer be included in your medical renewal, only done during initial medical.
4) The EEG requirement during initial medicals is dropped.
5) Only pilots above age 50 will require an ECG every 12 months. This used to be 40 and every 6 months.
6) A protocol will be set up allowing insulin depended pilots with Type II diabetes to retain their Class I medical.
7) Any pilots not meeting the current requirements, but meeting the new ones will be granted a waiver.
8) And this waiver will be grandfathered when the switch happens from JAA to EASA in 2007.

There are other changes, but these are the highlights I could find. It will take about 12 months before the new rules that have been agreed to will be put into law. But I think this is a great day for many of us. As a plus 40 fellow, not having to go to the doctor every six months is something to look forward to.
Greetings O.

Never been a sticky before, but I am a bit surprised at the lack of response. This is a major shift in the way we are medically tested. It will mean that a good number of us will be able to make it to the end of our careers without the devastation that a loss of our medical certificate can bring. Anyway I hope there are people out there who appreciate the news.
Regards O.

Otterman

you are correct, it is a good day in aviation when there is this type of news. I am personally very interested in the eyesight rules and was aware the JAA medical sub committee had a meeting in October (18th), I wonder is this the same meeting you referred to?

Anyway, if you can get your paws on the eyesight changes I'l either be going on a binge of champagne and women ;) or keeping up the prayers:hmm:

Thanks for the post.

thanks for that info
extremely interesting and like you surprised that people don't seem interested in what is a MAJOR shift... this benefits us all....

I have both Transport Canada and FAA licences and would fail a JAR Class 1 Medical... eyesight.... this would be a real boost for me!

-5.5 uncorrected each eye btw

Hi Otterman. Yes, I'm surprised at the lack of response. Some very important and significant changes on the way evidently. They wont be ratified for 12 months of course, nevertheless, I'll leave it as a "sticky" for now so the thread has as much prominence as possible.

Turning 40 in 12 months, so i really like the part about yearly medicals..... :):)

Mutt

got my ppl last yr (Aged 18) but am not able to get class 1 because of my -5.5 correction. Finally i might be able to continue with my studies!

Malta Flyer

You MAY be able to get a Class 1 issued as a deviation. You are only just outside the initial (-5) but well inside renewal (-8). If I was you I'd investigate it.

If your local authorities wont help then contact the UK CAA aeromedical section and ask to speak to the optometrist

PM me if you like

Good luck

thanks mate. I am suspecting that the diopter limits were removed and if so I would be able to get it without a prob!! My ultimate aim is to become a flight instructor so if they adopt the US system of class 1, 2, and 3 it would also be fine by me!

What's the situation on class II medicals?
Mart
G-BYZD

Actually (as I'm mid 40's) I quite like the 6 monthly check-up, i.e. where there's a chance that anything wrong with me will get picked up all the sooner and therein give me a chance to do something about it.

It's just as my old mum always says "You've got nothing if you haven't got your health !". :ugh: :uhoh: :{

Great news..
 

Good for many people. Finally the colour vision test nightmare will be removed for all those that passes an alternate test as colour safe but are not very if next time they will, as many times it depends on where you´ve done it..

Great news indeed!! Wish it relly comes into effect soon.. :ok:

Have to agree with Old King.

Nice to have the 'tick' every 6 months and pick up potential problems as early as possible.

any idea where i can obtain the official outcome of the meeting?

Hopefully someone will tell us SOON!!!

You would expect the news to be here

http://www.jaa.nl/licensing/licensing.html

or here

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?ca...49&pagetype=87

You mentioned the EEG being dropped.
It actually got dropped over a year ago, just before my initial class 1.

Shame , it sounded quite interesting!!!

SF

cant wait for them to publish details! If they did drop the dioper limits it will be my best christmas present ever!!!!!

Sparks-flying.
What I have given as news here comes directly from my union. This union was founded in 1929, and has served its constituents very well. It is also a founding member of IFALPA. Their information is as solid as gold. I translated their mailing to me and in it they mentioned that the initial EEG was being dropped. Your country might have been ahead in this, I don’t know about mine. I have been active in this business a lot longer than you, and my initial medical was many moons ago.

To go and put a pathetic line in there about the news being a shame speaks very poorly for you. If you feel you have information beyond the fact you did not require an EEG when you started down the road in aviation, please provide it, otherwise do some growing up. It will not serve you well in this business to jump to these types of conclusions based on limited knowledge and information.

O.

Ps. I also mentioned in my initial post that it will take around 12 months for the new requirements to be put into law, but that the outline of what these new laws will contain is what was agreed upon in Hoofddorp. The exact details for each category will have to wait for that day.

'2) The eyesight requirements will become a lot less rigid. No exact details mentioned. But I know at my company alone there are about a 150 guys who are very relieved.'

would anyone be able to elaborate on that??

thanks

Is that true though?
I'm surprised that blood tests are not done for every exam. As I understand it, incidences of minor heart attacks and the early onset of cancer for example can be evidenced by enzymes in the blood?

Heart attacks can be diagnoses by taking blood samples but only if you do the test at the time of the incident or shortly after, not at a medical.

Some forms of cancer show their presence in a blood test. PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) is the closest to being of use in a screening test.

Unfortunately with too many false positives (= a positive result where no disease is present leading to unneccesary investigations) and false negatives ( = a negative result where disease is present giving false reassurances) to be used as just a screening tool.

The adjustment of the medical requirements along the lines of Otterman's post has to be good news for anyone in aviation or aspirations in this direction.

Too many of the old rules enshrined in the books 'cause they have always been like that rather than based on sound medical evidence.

The latter is the reason why a lot of FAA regs are different to those in JAR land.

Sorry to burst your bubble and p*5$ on your chips, but the technology aint that good yet !:cool:

You could have a closer look at your lifestyle though.

Sorry, but I don’t see my AME as my primary healthcare provider. I don’t think he sees that as his job. He has a set of regulations in front of him, which I have to meet. Thankfully I have up to now, and he signs me off for another six months. He has even told me that it is purely a checkup of the here and now, and the warranty lasts until I close the door to his office. I know of a few cases of guys who have passed their medical and within a very short space of time are being treated for some serious problems, which were present during their medicals, but not detected.

What I have noticed these past twenty years is that, first my national regulations were a lot stiffer than regulations in many other countries (notably the USA and Canada). When the switch to JAR FCL 3 occurred the new regulations maintained this gap. From personal experience I know of two colleagues who have lost their medical certificates here in Europe and managed to regain them quite easily in Canada and the USA.

One colleague lost his because of a leaky heart valve, which to the European AME was cause to ground him. The cardiologist he was sent too, told him that if he was a “normal” citizen he would not have been in his office for another 10 to 15 years, when he would expect the associated symptoms would necessitate it. He returned to Canada and is back in the air with the restriction of an ECG every six months, and a visit to his cardiologist a maximum of 14 days before his annual medical. He flies a B737 for a low cost carrier.

The other colleague lost her medical due to her score on an EEG. On her initial EEG she scored very close to the arbitrary established limit. This resulted in a repeat of her EEG at subsequent medicals. During her ATPL course she had a medical renewal in which she slightly exceeded this limit, and was grounded. Two months later she was back below the line and continued her training. When she joined my company she became a FO on our B737 fleet. One year after joining she had to do another EEG and once again exceeded the limit. This time she lost her ticket for a minimum of 10 years, a period in which she had to be free of any seizures. She moved to the US with her boyfriend (now husband), regained her medical, and is an FO with a major US carrier (this all occurred about 12 year’s back). By the way she never had or has had an epileptic attack.

Here are just two instances where we in Europe lost good people for no other reason than our very tight limits. I think the liberalization of the medical requirements is a good thing. In the USA or Canada planes aren’t falling out of the sky because of their lower medical standards.

If I were to loose my medical I would receive a disability pension from my company equating to around 65% of my paycheck for life. I would receive a lump sum from my loss of license insurance, and I would be exempt from certain income taxes that I now pay. All this is a huge loss to the company, the government, and also to me as an individual. If it is necessary, because of a medical condition, I am happy it is there for me. But as the previous cases have pointed out (and I could keep going), very often in Europe this loss to all parties is not necessary.

Not once in the history of multi-crewed aircraft operation has an aircraft been lost due to the medical problems of one of the pilots. And we all know of a few cases where a pilot died while in his seat or in the bunk area. But the basic premise of multi-crewing is redundancy. A one pilot cockpit layout could very easily be designed into the next generation of airliners, but won’t because of this redundancy. So to me it is good that the JAA has revisited the topic of medical requirements. I am as curious as anyone else as to what the exact details will be, but I feel it is good we are moving away from the very strict regulations that were causing unnecessary harm, and not providing any additional safety benefit over say the American regulations. At least that is my view of things.

Greetings O.

Update on Long Sightedness
 

Got a letter from the UK CAA. The existing limit of +5.00 dioptres of long sightedness will NOT be changed. The UK CAA wanted to do the same as the FAA and remove the limits but the other JAA stats would not agree to it.

Thats all I know as I was in communication with the medical area regarding my specific case - I'm +5.50 :(

I dont know anything about the short sightedness limits being changed.

I guess the rest of the changes will come out in time.

Best of luck everyone else

thats bad!!!!!! probably they didnt change the short sighted requirements either then :{

great news indeed guys - does this mean JAR medical requirements are aligning towards the FAA requirements?

Congratulations.

As for color-blindness, be aware that after a Boeing plane crashed into the trees at Tallahassee, Florida ('black-hole' effect), this reportedly was a problem for the flying-pilot. The airplane descended until the crew lost sight of the VASI or PAPI lights! Fatigue and all-night flying was a factor. They all survived!:D

so we'd expect a fatigue test to form part of the class 1 in a couple of years :ok:

Its stilll only a start. There remain areas where JAR-FCL-3 is completely opposite to medical advice. ie Whats best for you in terms of treatment will not allow you to get your medical back.

Thank you Otterman, it is a very good news.
I would really like they change color vision tests too, those presently used are so so bad.
This study published in Aviation, space, and environmental medicine should be read by JAR-FCL3 authors... :
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Citation

Soeren

A step in the right direction, I'm glad to see the CAA want to drop the refractive limits.....least theres willing!

I wonder how I stand now? Pre-LASIK I was >-8D :( I am currently -0.5D (20/40 uncorrected).

Whilst I am well within limits now, I wasn't "before", wonder if the CAA would be looking to scrap the "pre-operative" limits with refractive surgeries. I see no point in them, surgery can't "fall off" like a pair of -8D glasses can!

Only thing I can see being "bad" about having >-8D preop is an increased risk of retinal detachment....

Any thoughts? (Maybe time I spoke to the CAA?)

Phil you should def to the CAA, if you meet the renewal limits (even before op) then they will consider you for a Class 1 deviation medical, so the fact that you are now 0.5 means that you will probably be ok.

The CAA wanted to drop the refractive limits for long sightedness too but the other JAA states did not, hence it remains at +5.00

Believe me, the UK CAA are very thought progressive wheras the Germans and French (I beleive, not 100%) are not...maybe EASA will change that, maybe not. But at least for the next 2 years it will remain.

Happy New Year

Re: Liberalizing medical requirements
 

Is there any mention of the colour-vision standard being relaxed to allow a pass of a lightgun test similar those done done by the FAA and Australian CASA?

PS Re:Tallahasse, both pilots were not CVD.

Re: Liberalizing medical requirements
 

Nope I'm afraid there isn't. I highly doubt whether JAA will ever have a light gun test, the only thing they *may* do is reduce the passing standards on the current lanterns. Even that won't happen for a while I'm afraid.

Re: Liberalizing medical requirements
 

hey, can anybody tell me if the changes proposed so far (for example the -6.00 diop. limit) will also be accepted in the rest of europe (let's say switzerland) or just in the UK?
thx

Re: Liberalizing medical requirements
 

Gutted!

Have just returned from AMC Gatwick with head in hands. 3 hours of being poked and proded, then the very last test - colour vision!
Identified all but 1 of the plates! And they tell me thats not good enough! What?
Then a couple of bizarre lantern tests where the lights were so small I could barely tell there was anything there anyway. And the person didn't really explain what was going on until the end when she said 'you won't fly commercially'
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've heard US and OZ are a lot less restrictive - is this true?
What about Europe?
Can I take the tests again?
Any chance they'll drop this colour vision restriction at some date?
thx
Failed that.

Re: Liberalizing medical requirements
 

Well bendoverstewardess,

WELCOME TO THE CLUB.
There are enough people on this forum with the same frustrating problem.
I did not know about my colourvision situation until the test.

I was almost finished and the doc told me: Well this is the last test and after this you good to go. Well eventually it was a no go.

I almost own my PPL(A) with a restricted class 2.

You can do a few practical alternative tests to obtain a class 1.
Beyne lantern (the coloured light dots)
spectrolux (something similar)
Anamaloscope (make 1 coloured circel from a green/red half by looking through a microscope and turning knobs)

The 1st one is the one that you did. You still got 2 opportunities but you need to go to another country because England has only got the 1st test.

I suggest the following countries:

Netherlands
Germany
France

Look for a JAA country and be up to date about medical rules.

Re: Liberalizing medical requirements
 

RE:
I've heard US and OZ are a lot less restrictive - is this true?
What about Europe?
Can I take the tests again?
Any chance they'll drop this colour vision restriction at some date?
thx
Failed that.

======================================================

US: Rules are softer.

Still need to pass a test But the can give you a SODA (statement of demontrated ability) by taking you to an airport. The tower wil give you some lights and you need to indentify them correclty.

OZ: rules are softer.

Same tests as in europe but you are able to fly commercial without passing any cv test. The onley problem is that you can only fly above Australian airspace without any restriction.

Re: Liberalizing medical requirements
 

Thanks whitelabel - I'm now in the process of finding out all there is to know about colour vision (much of which is on this forum!) before booking an appointment in Amsterdam or somewhere.

Will keep the forum posted