Bad situation

MedicRyan

MedicRyan

Well-Known Member
Well here is the scoop guys. I made a potentially career ending mistake. I failed to disclose a medical condition I had when I was about 12 on my medicals the last couple years out of fear that I would be denied my medical. It was very stupid and if I had done my research andI would have found out that I could have gotten a medical without any problems if I said something in the beginning. I have decided that I have to face the music and disclose everything when I go for my next medical. Now, I expect this to be a very long process to get my medical back if I even can. Here is the question, if I am able to get my medical back, what are my chances of getting hired at a regional with this history? On an airline application, is there a question that asks if you have ever falsified a government document? I am scared to death that this is a career ending mistake before I even start the career. Any advice or insight will be greatly appreciated.

Ryan
 
I'm not too sure about the regional hiring process, but IF you get your medical back and you come clean saying you made a mistake and learned from it(make it as sincere as possible as I'm sure you are anyways) then you might get hired at some regionals. Seeing that most are in a hiring frenzy this situation might not be too bad. Also, if you get your medical back I'm curious to know how they would find out. Granted if they ask you about something illegal you've done then you could disclose this, but otherwise:confused:.
 
First,good luck with your situation.Dont know much about how the feds handle this.I read somewhere once that they might implement a amnesty program.I would post this over in the medical corner.Dr. Forred will know much more about this type of situation,and can advise you. Good luck to you. Keep us posted. FLY SAFE T.C.
 
I'm not so sure disclosure is the way to go especially if the condition is permanently gone. Unless you have reason to believe that the FAA is going to find out about it you may wanna just keep quiet. 12 years old, at least 10 years ago I assume. And to my knowledge the FAA medical examiners office does not investigate the medical history of certificate holders beyond the information you give during your physical.

Difficult situation. Not sure what I would do if I were in your shoes..but good luck!
 
Talk with the guys at Virtual Flight Surgeons and your aviation lawyer before doing anything.

I know of pilots that just disclosed and lost everything, not just their medical. The FAA did an emergency revocation of their medical and all pilot and mechanic certificates. The good news is that after 1 year you can start gaining back those certificates, with only 3 hours of checkride prep required for each checkride. . . PPSEL, PPMEL, IA, CPSEL, CPMEL, CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP. . .

I know of pilots that used VFS/their lawyer and ended up with just a suspension, or no certificate action at all.

If the FAA does find out, it is possible to lose everything and be slapped with a civil penalty. Remember "Operation Safe Pilot" is expanding beyond just Social Security Disability.

Good luck!
 
SlantG said:
Talk with the guys at Virtual Flight Surgeons and your aviation lawyer before doing anything.

I know of pilots that just disclosed and lost everything, not just their medical. The FAA did an emergency revocation of their medical and all pilot and mechanic certificates. The good news is that after 1 year you can start gaining back those certificates, with only 3 hours of checkride prep required for each checkride. . . PPSEL, PPMEL, IA, CPSEL, CPMEL, CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP. . .

I know of pilots that used VFS/their lawyer and ended up with just a suspension, or no certificate action at all.

If the FAA does find out, it is possible to lose everything and be slapped with a civil penalty. Remember "Operation Safe Pilot" is expanding beyond just Social Security Disability.

Good luck!
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Excellent advice! Definitely talk to a lawyer...
 
Why use virtual flight surgeons when you've got a real live doc on board here? Did you ask the doc about what he thinks concerning the disclosure?
 
SlantG said:
Talk with the guys at Virtual Flight Surgeons and your aviation lawyer before doing anything.

I know of pilots that just disclosed and lost everything, not just their medical. The FAA did an emergency revocation of their medical and all pilot and mechanic certificates.
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There are no medical requirements for mechanical certificates. I don't know on what basis will the FAA revoke them. Maybe you can explain it, although I think that it's just not true.
 
RightSeatGirl said:
I'm not so sure disclosure is the way to go especially if the condition is permanently gone. Unless you have reason to believe that the FAA is going to find out about it you may wanna just keep quiet. 12 years old, at least 10 years ago I assume. And to my knowledge the FAA medical examiners office does not investigate the medical history of certificate holders beyond the information you give during your physical.

Difficult situation. Not sure what I would do if I were in your shoes..but good luck!
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I considered not disclosing a very old medical condition and I most likely could have gotten away with it. However, I decided to have a chat with my AME about it.

He pointed out that the odds were that I could get away with not disclosing. However, if there was ever an incident, the FAA would be investigating heavily - and if they turned up something that I didn't disclose, the consequences could be disastrous. According to the AME, they're far more lenient in 'corrective actions' when they know about stuff up front.
 
My question is specifically what is on your record?

Full disclosure. If your medical was revoked, then re-issued, make sure you answer the question on any application you have and provide a brief description of what happened.

If you leave answer "yes" but fail to provide a brief description, they're not going to offer you an interview.
 
In one of my classes we had another teacher come in and talk about flying the line for NWA on the DC9, he is now back with NWA. He talked about how he had gotten bronchitis for a couple of straight years, which would put him under the chronic bronchitis umbrella. He finally decided to disclose it on the medical. Before he went in, he sent a letter to the FAA stating the situation. They replied with a simple letter that told him to disclose it in the future. He did, never lost his medical, and that was that.
 
Mariano said:
There are no medical requirements for mechanical certificates. I don't know on what basis will the FAA revoke them. Maybe you can explain it, although I think that it's just not true.
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67.403(b): the making of fraudulent or false statements on a medical applicable "is a basis for—

(1) Suspending or revoking all airman, ground instructor, and medical certificates and ratings held by that person;

(2) Withdrawing all Authorizations or SODA's held by that person; and

(3) Denying all applications for medical certification and requests for Authorizations or SODA's."

Certification of mechanics is included under Part 65 -- "airmen other than flight crewmembers."
 
Minnesota_Flyer said:
67.403(b): the making of fraudulent or false statements on a medical applicable "is a basis for—

(1) Suspending or revoking all airman, ground instructor, and medical certificates and ratings held by that person;

(2) Withdrawing all Authorizations or SODA's held by that person; and

(3) Denying all applications for medical certification and requests for Authorizations or SODA's."

Certification of mechanics is included under Part 65 -- "airmen other than flight crewmembers."
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Sorry, I can't tell for sure if you agree or disagree with me. :):)

You are quoting part 67. As you wrote above, certification of mechanics is regulated by part 65.

There are no medical requirements for airframe or powerplant certificates, I just can't see how the FAA could use an infraction on medical certificate as basis to revoke mech certs. It doesn't make any sense, plus I don't see it in the regs.
 
Prior to making a career out of flying, I had my private pilot certificate for over 10 years. During that time I had a period of time where I didn't fly at all for a long time due to financial reasons. During that time of non-flying (during which I did not maintain a medical certificate - didn't see a reason to) I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. Four or five years or so after the diagnosis, I got back into flying... and on that first medical, I failed to disclose the sleep apnea. I simply forgot! I didn't think of it as a disease or illness, but that's where it gets reported - the catchall question about any other diseases or illnesses or something like that.

Anyway, at some point I saw a discussion on the AOPA forums about sleep apnea, and realized my mistake. So when I went for my next medical, I came armed ahead-of-time with the necessary documentation (fresh sleep study, maintenance of wakefulness test results, etc.) and reported it. There was absolutely no enforcement action. The only repercussion was my medical was deferred, and I now have a special issuance medical which expires annually. However, the AME told me that it does not count as having a medical denied or revoked, so there are no long-term repercussions. And the special issuance did not keep me from being hired at the regional level. (And since losing a bunch of weight I plan to have another sleep study done before my next medical and see if I can't get rid of the special issuance thing altogether.) So I SUSPECT that you won't face any repercussions provided you disclose it now. (Talk to a lawyer first though, it couldn't hurt.)
 
Mariano said:
Sorry, I can't tell for sure if you agree or disagree with me. :):)

You are quoting part 67. As you wrote above, certification of mechanics is regulated by part 65.

There are no medical requirements for airframe or powerplant certificates, I just can't see how the FAA could use an infraction on medical certificate as basis to revoke mech certs. It doesn't make any sense, plus I don't see it in the regs.
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Does it really matter whether he agrees with you or not? He provided info for you.

You're first reaction about the the A&P certificates makes sense on a privilege level, but not an integrity level. Yes, A&Ps are certificated under a different set of FARs, but when you consider falsifying a government document, I don't think the Feds really care whether it's for airman medical certification or not. Remember, some certificates are for life. When the FAA revokes a permanent certificate, they do so for other-than-medical reasons. This is why it wouldn't surprise me if they also pulled a pilot's A&P and IA, if they also had those privileges and failed to disclose a medical condition.
 
hey can someone answer my question a couple of posts up, thanks guys, sorry to hijack this thread, but I'm becoming a wreck over this.
 
falconvalley said:
Does it really matter whether he agrees with you or not? He provided info for you.

You're first reaction about the the A&P certificates makes sense on a privilege level, but not an integrity level. Yes, A&Ps are certificated under a different set of FARs, but when you consider falsifying a government document, I don't think the Feds really care whether it's for airman medical certification or not. Remember, some certificates are for life. When the FAA revokes a permanent certificate, they do so for other-than-medical reasons. This is why it wouldn't surprise me if they also pulled a pilot's A&P and IA, if they also had those privileges and failed to disclose a medical condition.
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It does matter if he agrees or not, for clarification, because his post is contradictory: he quotes part 67, and follows stating that mechanic certificates are regulated in part 65.

We're not discussing integrity, but legality. You can't have you certs revoked based on the moral judgment of a FAA official. If your certification is revoked it must be done with the law backing up the action.

Pilot certs: Medical requirements must be met.

Mech certs: No medical requirements, no medical examination.
 
Mariano said:
It does matter if he agrees or not, for clarification, because his post is contradictory: he quotes part 67, and follows stating that mechanic certificates are regulated in part 65.

We're not discussing integrity, but legality. You can't have you certs revoked based on the moral judgment of a FAA official. If your certification is revoked it must be done with the law backing up the action.

Pilot certs: Medical requirements must be met.

Mech certs: No medical requirements, no medical examination.
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Isn't a requirement for an ATP "good moral character"? I don't know how the A&P certs work, but you are not entirely correct in saying that moral character can't be a factor.
 
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