Issued my Initial Class 1 Medical with an OML restriction. Best course to take?
 

Hi!

I have a very mild peanut allergy and because of this I applied for my Class 1 Medical before I embarked on any training as I knew it would be a huge hurdle. Initially I failed my medical, but appealed the decision and after 14 months of fighting I have been issued my Class 1 Medical with an OML limitation. Hurdle one out of the way.

Hurdle two. Now that I am in a position to apply to Oxford Aviation Academy or L3 Airline Academy I have noticed that for both of their Integrated ATPL courses it states that I need to hold an EASA Class 1 Medical "without restrictions". However, both are also advertising the Generation easyJet Pilot Training program and this only states that I need to hold an EASA Class 1 Medical, no mention of "without restrictions". I am wondering if this is because on is an ATPL and the other is an MPL. Could this make a difference?

Even if I get past hurdle two I know that hurdle 3 would be securing a job.

Any advice on beginning a career or even starting training with an OML would be greatly appreciated.

You got the OML just for having a peanut allergy?
I have more food allergies than II could list, but never any issues with the medical.

In which contry was your medical issued ? It should not be possible to issue a initial class 1 with an OML as the regulation states it is possible only for revalidation or renewal of a certificate.

safelife, for better or for worse, yes. On the one hand I'm grateful for the OML considering they failed me initially, but on the other hand with all that i have been reading it can make securing a job very difficult.

LSC172, it was issued in UK, but from what i understand there are very few people who have this OML at the initial medical stage.

Field Required, thank you, that's good to hear. You say that you also benefited from the rule change, so I presume you also have an OML on your initial medical, can I ask what stage you are at and if you have found any problems along the way?

What? Multi-crew limitation for a VERY MILD peanut allergy? How did they work that one out?

Unfortunately, yes. They said that even though it is unlikely, they cannot guarantee that there would be no anaphylaxis.

Yes that is what it states, which is why I was not particularly worried about the OML initially, because as far as I was concerned I would always be with a qualified copilot. But from a number of forum posts that I've read it seems to make it difficult to find a job after training or at any time in a career. This is great to hear and I'm hoping to hear more to quash my worries. Who did you reach out to? Any airlines?

At the risk of being the harbinger of doom, if you go on to train and qualify as a low hours pilot you will be competing for jobs with hundreds/ thousands of other low hours pilots. Many of the competition will not have an OML on their medical, you need to seriously ask yourself why would an airline employ me over someone who does not have an OML on their medical?

If someone is already established and experienced in their flying career and they get an OML on their licence then I could understand that an airline would not want to lose their experienced staff.

Unfortunately there is no shortage of low hours candidates.

Sorry to appear so negative but just trying to inject some reality before you commit to spending an eye watering sum of your/ someone else’s money. If you do decide to proceed with your training then I sincerely wish you nothing but luck in your training and subsequent job hunt.

magicmick, the OML is absolutely irrelevant to employment provided it's operating in a multicrew environment. You are also misinformed... we've actually been short of crew this summer, as have many other airlines. No one is guaranteed a job after training, however, now is not the worst time to be a low houred cadet. OML or no OML, you are assessed on your abilities and If you make the grade then you make the grade; many don't.

Hi CA, I absolutely understand your points, however the schools are churning out low hours freshly qualified candidates at a rate that exceeds demand by some margin so I do not accept that there is a shortage of low hours candidates looking for work, there may well be a shortage of type rated candidates with over a thousand hours experience but that's another matter.

I agree that if a candidate is fortunate enough to be invited to an assessment day/ interview then their performance on the day will dictate whether or not they get hired. Unfortunately completing an application form does not guarantee progress to assessment/ interview, many operators want to know details of any medical limitations as part of the application form and may well filter out those with limitations in favour of those with no limitations before the assessment/ interview stage.

My concern is that Spencer might commit to an expensive integrated course without fully considering all the possible implications of the medical limitation.

Of course if Spencer goes ahead with training they will not complete until 18 months to 2 years from now, will the recruitment situation be worse then? How will Brexit affect recruitment? Of course that situation will be the same for all people qualifying at that time.

Integrated training is expensive and will always be a significant investment. There are many pros and cons. The only thing we know for sure is one needs a licence to apply for a job. Without it you aren't getting anywhere. I've never heard of applications being filtered by medical restrictions over eligibility. Airlines conduct computer based assessments to filter through the rubbish these days. Sometimes you won't hear anything, that's just the luck of the draw.
A multicrew OML would be pretty useless if what you are saying is fact. Out of interest do you have any experience to add merit to your advice?

Sadly I am not involved in the black art that is recruitment and recruiters do not share their secrets with me which is why I use the phrase ‘may well’

Every application that I have made for employment has required me to confirm that I have a Class 1 medical, state whether or not I have ever been refused a medical, confirm my medical expiry date and whether I have any limitations. In that case Spencer would have to confirm that they have been refused a medical and that they have an OML.

Why would they ask for details of limitations and refused medicals if it plays absolutely no part in the recruitment process?

Equally I am not aware of any low hours pilots having been hired lately with OMLs other than if they need spectacles. Perhaps someone reading this who has been recruited as a low hours pilot with an OML other than spectacles or knows someone who has been recruited as a low hours pilot with an OML other than spectacles might care to share their information.

It’s all too easy to encourage someone to continue when it’s not your money that is being spent. I am just looking to inject a note of caution into the matter without being cynical. If Spencer decides to go ahead then that’s their decision and I wish them all the best but they do need to consider the possible ramifications of their medical situation.

Did your AME refer to you see a specialist allergist? I had to see a doctor at The Shard in London due to my peanut allergy before the AME would issue a class 2. Unfortunately I can't apply for a class 1 at the minute and I'm learning on helicopters so my situation is different.

Yes, he sent me to an immunologist that I had previously seen because he wanted several questions answering before he could make any kind of informed decision.

Contact Approach & magicmick, thank you both very much for your input, I am very grateful and I am considering both arguments. These two arguments are similar to those that I keep seeing elsewhere, some say yes some say no. I'm a very cautions person and a big part of me says this is a huge risk. The other part of me is the part that has wanted to be a pilot since the age of 10. It seems wrong to me that a fully qualified pilot who is medically sound within the CAA's rules, could lose out on a job because of their medical. What happens if out of 2 applicants I am the better candidate? Do they blackball me because of this OML?

Maybe not in the first 6 months / first year, but surely a pilot qualifying with good results would get a job offer despite an OML? I'm sure that's incredibly naive.

Who do I ask to give me enough confidence to either go through with the training or decide that this is the end of the line?

Can you share more of what they told you why the OML is in place? How in the world would you get an anaphylactic reaction in the flight deck from a very mild peanut allergy? Is the flight yoke made of peanut? There is no guarantee you'll not have an anaphylactic attack but by the same vein, there is no guarantee that the fit-and-healthy captain beside you won't have a heart attack. SMH.

Hi Spencer, have you considered attending Flight Crew Futures:

https://www.pilotcareernews.com/live/flightcrew/

There will be recruiters there that you can talk to and explain your concerns, they might be able to offer medical advice.

You are right that the best candidate should get the job if they have the medical but sadly the world is not a fair and ideal place, good luck.

Hello Again Spencer,

Out of interest, have you spoken to the training schools that you are considering regarding your limitation? During PPL training and hours building you will be expected to make solo flights, will the training school's insurance cover a solo trainee who has a food allergy?

Nurse2Pilot, I believe it is because it is 'advised' that people with a peanut allergy carry an epipen. My thoughts exactly, in fact, there's no guarantee that the captain beside you wouldn't develop a peanut allergy and not know about it.

Contact Appoach, such a big part of me is saying that, and that there must be a job for me at some point. But again it comes down to the money. If it was £10/20,000 I would do it and take the gamble but I cant do that with £125,000, I have to have a reasonable level of confidence that I could secure a job first.

magicmick, thank you, I hadn't thought of Flight Crew Futures but its definitely something that I will look into now, it could be very helpful in this situation.

I emailed the schools about their Integrated ATPL courses and got a reply earlier. They say that as long as my Class 2 allows me to fly solo then they would train me. However in the same email they also said that I may have a problem securing a job afterwards considering the OML on my Class 1. I have asked them if they know of any airlines that would or wouldn't consider hiring me just to gauge if its possible but I haven't got a reply yet.