Bad AME's

CaptainTeezy

Well-Known Member
Due to an AME not knowing proper procedure...I lost a month's pay and flying and almost thought I had to get out of flying. I am starting this so that others will not be hurt as I was. If you know of an AME who is not informed or just unprofessional. Post your city, state location up here and then keep names and situations limited to the PM's.

I will start...I know who to NOT go to in LITTLE ROCK, AR.
 
AMEs who provide drive-through medicals? There's one in Mesa, AZ. You go into the bathroom for the 'ol pee test and find a whole week's worth of full cups on the counter. Look up when the doc calls your name? You've just passed the hearing test. You can't fail with this guy.
 
AMEs who provide drive-through medicals? There's one in Mesa, AZ. You go into the bathroom for the 'ol pee test and find a whole week's worth of full cups on the counter. Look up when the doc calls your name? You've just passed the hearing test. You can't fail with this guy.


Think I've been to that guy! He's actually pretty cool!
 
AMEs who provide drive-through medicals? There's one in Mesa, AZ. You go into the bathroom for the 'ol pee test and find a whole week's worth of full cups on the counter. Look up when the doc calls your name? You've just passed the hearing test. You can't fail with this guy.

Am I the only one that finds this a little disturbing? There is a reason that you have to have and PASS a physical.
 
Due to an AME not knowing proper procedure...I lost a month's pay and flying and almost thought I had to get out of flying. I am starting this so that others will not be hurt as I was. If you know of an AME who is not informed or just unprofessional. Post your city, state location up here and then keep names and situations limited to the PM's.

I will start...I know who to NOT go to in LITTLE ROCK, AR.

If you feel wronged, sue him.
 
AMEs who provide drive-through medicals? There's one in Mesa, AZ. You go into the bathroom for the 'ol pee test and find a whole week's worth of full cups on the counter. Look up when the doc calls your name? You've just passed the hearing test. You can't fail with this guy.
That's a little scary.
 
WOW!
Okay, well AME's are suppose to serve a function to improve safety. HOWEVER, there are some out there that are in this for the money and sometimes play GOD without knowing what the protocols actually are. If the AME you went to broke protocol then you need to report him to the authority in your state and possible take it further. If his exam was incorect and he blew protocols then you may have grounds to sue him to recover your lost pay. I am assuming he is an idiot, not a drive through doc, which is another subject altogether.

Sorry to hear of your experience, but best wishes to you. I hope everything works out.:rawk:
 
This whole subject of choosing an AME you can trust is a tricky business. When you're a young guy, you don't give much thought to "filling the squares" (I didn't ).

When you reach a certain age, your mortality becomes more apparent to you and your feelings about an interaction on which your earning capacity depends will take a whole new meaning. You really need someone you're comfortable with and who'll pull up a chair and chat with you.

Recommendations from your pilot buddies are king.

Like everyone else, for many years I went to the local, and sometimes too-busy, GPs who did physicals for the easy money because I didn't expect to need someone to guide me through the process and overcome serious snags. As time went on, I became increasingly uneasy with these guys after hearing a couple of horror stories about Nursy-Lursy putting some incorrect info on the form, busy doc not catching the error, and the guy ending up in a heck of a mess due to false info (you know the Feds: guilty until you prove yourself innocent).

These docs are probably good guys but they just don't "get it" when it comes to what these physicals really mean to a pilot. Beware the doc whose butt never touches a chair during your time in his office.

I asked around and found a guy who'd been a Korean War fighter pilot before becoming a doc, owned a couple of airplanes, and really knew the score in dealing with the Feds. And, he'd been at it so long the Feds knew HIM.

Well, he quit practising so I had to find another one. Found a guy here who has spent his whole career as a pilot doc in the airline industry, is well known to the Feds in OKC, and will know exactly how to deal with them if needed. This guy is worth his weight in gold.

He's getting up there in years but is still doing only pilot physicals (apparently like the doc who posts here on jetcareers)..and filling out the paperwork himself.

Fortunately, I retired before he did but he did help me out of one fairly major snag some years back. The ALPA docs are good guys but they're 1000 miles away; you need someone across the desk when your medical is up for grabs.

It's a shame that it takes so long for these guys to get so good at the game...and next thing you know, they're not practising anymore. :laff:
 
How about great AMEs!

If anyone is in the Columbus/Wilmington/Cincinnati area this guy is great:
http://www.docterrell.com/

I drive an hour and a half to see him and hes worth every minute of it. He is a pilot himself and deals directly with Oklahoma City. Been doing the medicals since 1967 and is a senior AME. Great guy who you can sit down and chat with and truly wants to help out if needed. You can tell he truly shares a love of flying and isn't out there to make the easy money or make things difficult for you. Most of the Exam consists of chatting about flying and his old Cessna 195. Gives you a laminated business card and tells you to call anytime if you have questions or concerns.
 
Great AME in the greater Chicago area: Dr. Greg Ostrom. He took over the late Dr. Spears' (RIP) practice in Elgin.

He's worth the 4 hour drive once or twice a year. :)
 
I'll second Dr. Ostrom. Nice guy and I usually spend more time talking to him about flying than getting the medical done.
 
If there was some way to get from the airport to Dr. Forred's office without renting a car or getting a taxi I'd be all in.
 
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