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Table of
Contents
Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs) from the FAA's Civil Aviation Medical Institute (CAMI)
website
Capsular
Summary of the Standards
If
You Do Not Meet the Standards
LASIK and
Refractive Eye Surgery
Protocols
and the Airman Medical Examiner Assisted Special Issuance (AASI) Process
Sport
Pilot Information
FAQs
from CAMI
Note: By clicking on one of the following questions you will be going to the FAA
website page which addresses that issue. To return here use your Browser's back button
FAA Website publication date
of this FAQ List was 7/20/05. Checked for update 7/3/2010.
To see if there are revisions
to the FAQ List visit the FAA website site by clicking
on the blue button: 
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Capsular
Summary of the Standards
Please note: This was downloaded from the FAA online version of the
Airman Medical Examiners Handbook Version V; Updated April 3, 2006
Medical
Certificate
Pilot Type |
First-Class
Airline Transport Pilot |
Second-Class
Commercial Pilot
|
Third-Class
Private Pilot |
|
DISTANT VISION |
20/20 or better in
each eye separately, with or
without correction. |
20/40 or better in
each eye separately, with or without correction. |
|
NEAR VISION |
20/40 or better in
each eye separately (Snellen equivalent), with or without correction, as
measured at 16 inches. |
|
INTERMEDIATE VISION |
20/40 or better in each eye separately (Snellen equivalent),
with or without correction at age 50 and over, as measured at 32 inches.
|
No requirement. |
|
COLOR
VISION
Note: If the above words look
grey, you may have a problem.
|
Ability to perceive those colors necessary for safe
performance of airman duties. |
|
HEARING |
Demonstrate hearing
of an average conversational voice in a quiet room, using both ears at 6
feet, with the back turned to the examiner or pass one of the
audiometric tests below. |
|
AUDIOLOGY |
Audiometric speech
discrimination test: Score at least 70% reception in one ear.
Pure tone audiometric test. Unaided, with thresholds no worse than:
|
|
|
500 Hz |
1,000 Hz |
2,000 Hz |
3,000 Hz |
|
Better Ear |
35 Db |
30 dB |
30 dB |
40 dB |
|
Worst Ear |
35 dB |
50 dB |
50 dB |
60 dB |
|
ENT |
No ear disease or
condition manifested by, or that may reasonably be expected to maintained
by, vertigo or a disturbance of speech or equilibrium. |
|
PULSE |
Not disqualifying
per se. Used to determine cardiac system status and responsiveness. |
|
BLOOD PRESSURE |
No specified values
stated in the standards. The current guideline maximum value is 155/95. |
ELECTRO-
CARDIOGRAM (ECG) |
At age 35 and
annually after age 40 |
Not routinely
required. |
|
MENTAL |
No diagnosis of
psychosis, or bipolar disorder, or severe personality disorders. |
SUBSTANCE
DEPENDENCE AND
SUBSTANCE ABUSE |
A diagnosis or
medical history of "substance dependence" is disqualifying unless there is
established clinical evidence, satisfactory to the Federal Air Surgeon, of
recovery, including sustained total abstinence from the substance(s) for not
less than the preceding 2 years. A history of "substance abuse" within the
preceding 2 years is disqualifying. "Substance" includes alcohol and other
drugs (i.e., PCP, sedatives and hynoptics, anxiolytics, marijuana, cocaine,
opioids, amphetamines, hallucinogens, and other psychoactive drugs or
chemicals). |
|
DISQUALIFYING
CONDITIONS |
Unless otherwise
directed by the FAA, the Examiner must deny or defer if the applicant has a
history of:
1. Diabetes mellitus
requiring hypoglycemic medication
2. Angina pectoris
3. Coronary heart disease that has been treated or, if untreated, that has
been symptomatic or clinically significant.
4. Myocardial infarction
5. Cardiac valve replacement
6. Permanent cardiac pacemaker
7. Heart replacement
8. Psychosis
9. Bipolar disorder
10. Personality disorder that is severe enough to have repeatedly
manifested itself by overt acts
11. Substance dependence
12. Substance abuse
13. Epilepsy
14. Disturbance of consciousness and without satisfactory explanation of
cause
15. Transient loss of control of nervous system function(s) without
satisfactory explanation of cause. |
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If You Do Not
Meet the Standards
No
individual is perfect, and most
everyone will experience at some time during his or her career a significant illness
or a disability. This does not necessarily end flying activities and the
FAA has procedures whereby individuals can re-qualify. A disqualifying
medical condition can be either static or possibly progressive, and the FAA
takes a different approach in dealing with each one.
A static condition is one that is not expected to change
or progress over the years. Examples include some degree of color
blindness or an individual that has lost his leg from an injury and wears a
prosthesis. If the FAA makes a determination that when considering the
adaptations the individual has made to compensate for their limitations that
operating an aircraft can be done safely it will issue a Statement of
Demonstrated Ability or SODA. At times an actual flight test may be
required with an FAA check pilot to obtain these waivers. SODAs are
permanent and do not have any expiration or reevaluation date. Once you
have one it remains in effect as long as the condition does not change and
you apply for the same class or lower class of certificate. A SODA
needs to be re-issued if you go to a higher class of certification, and it
becomes invalid if the condition for which it was issued changes.
Most
medical problems are not static and may progress or affect other body systems
over time. Examples in this category are hypertension, glaucoma or
heart disease. Such conditions require an initial evaluation when the
problem is first discovered. If the FAA determines that the condition does not
preclude the safe operation of an aircraft one can generally obtain
certification. Reevaluation is usually required annually or biennially. If
the condition has not changed then the certificate may be re issued, however if
there is progression continued certification may become problematic.
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FAA
Protocols and the
AASI Process
To facilitate certifying pilots who do not meet the applicable medical
requirements for their certificate, the FAA has developed Protocols and instituted the
Airman Medical Examiner
Assisted Special Issuance (AASI) process.
The protocols cover a variety of common
medical conditions that are at least initially disqualifying. For
a given problem the protocols describe what
tests are necessary and under what circumstances a certificate may be issued.
A list of these protocols can be view on the Protocols Page of
this website, or by going directly to the
Protocol
Pages at the CAMI website.
.
The AASI
is a process that provides the Airman Medical Examiner (AME) the ability to reissue all
classes of airman medical certificate to an
applicant with certain disqualifying conditions. If during an aviation
medical examination it is determined that an airman has one of these
diseases or conditions, the AME will do the exam, and forward the results of the exam and the
diseases-specific information to the FAA. FAA staff physicians provide the
initial certification decision and grant or deny the authorization. This
authorization letter is accompanied by an attachment that specifies the
information that the applicant must provide from his/her treating
physician(s) for continued certification. When you return for your next FAA Exam,
you bring the authorization letter in, the required medical information, and if
the condition has not changed and you are otherwise qualified, the AME will issue the certificate. A
list of these guidelines can be viewed on the AASI Page of
this website, or by going directly to the
AASI
Pages of the CAMI website.
Certification
is fastest if you have the required supporting documentation when you come in
for your medical examination. The
AME
cannot issue the certificate until he/she has the requisite information
required by the protocols or AASI Process and you are otherwise qualified. If
your particular circumstance needs to be deferred to the regional flight Surgeon
or CAMI a decision is expedited if the protocol or AASI data and the
AME
's report is sent in together
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This page was last updated on
10/31/14
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