My battle with the FAA

DropTank said:
Is that a procedure?
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Statement of Demonstrated Ability. Certain conditions are permitted after you demonstrate that it doesn’t impact you adversely. Hypothetically you have a condition that isn’t quite a special issuance but requires some extra approval so you’d go through the process and fly with a representative of the FAA to show that it doesn’t impair your ability to fly.
 
DropTank said:
Is that a procedure?
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See @CFI A&P post above. My SODA was issued on the basis of Special Flight Test and “MFT” (I think medical flight test). This was years ago, so in my case I had to take a FSDO Examiner up in a Cessna 172 and do T/O, landings, air work, traffic pattern, etc.

On that basis, he signed me off that I am okay.

My SODA is good for life; I have to carry it with my FAA 1st class medical. As long as there are no changes, I don’t have to do anything in terms of recurrent checks other than the 1st class med exam every year.
 
CFI A&P said:
Statement of Demonstrated Ability. Certain conditions are permitted after you demonstrate that it doesn’t impact you adversely. Hypothetically you have a condition that isn’t quite a special issuance but requires some extra approval so you’d go through the process and fly with a representative of the FAA to show that it doesn’t impair your ability to fly.
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I kept thinking, how the hell does Pepsi help your eyesight?
 
This thread has me a bit nervous for next march. My AME thinks it’s no problem, but: I did spend three days in a hospital last summer for a bizarre headache that made my pupils go different sized. Two cat scans and an mri later, and hasn’t come back. Not looking forward to the pile of BS ahead of me…
 
I lost my medical, even got it back once before the condition came back after a couple years. Somewhat similar situation that eventually turned into “more than nothing.”

I can help you (or anyone else) through the process. It’s important to remember that flying isn’t everything too. I was very morose and sad when I lost my medical the first time. Very much felt as though a large part of my identity had evaporated. I had been flying since I was 14, so to lose that was to lose something of my sense of manliness. It was a rough way to be 28 with a brand new daughter and a family to feed.

Still, at the end of the day, it’s arduous to deal with the feds, but you can get back to the cockpit if there’s nothing wrong. And if there is something amiss, it’s good to take care of it, and sometimes you can still get back

The process for disputing things is a pain in the ass (one doc told me “nothing wrong with you” the other doc “panic!”), but it can be done. You need to find a good AME. Mine held my hand through the whole thing. It was also expensive. The first time I lost an eye - so I had to apply for a soda, but there’s all sorts of silly stuff they can make you do, from a stress test to a psych exam to having you simply wait.

Don’t despair. And remember, if the unthinkable does happen, you still have a lot of skills, they’re just probably not what you think they are. I’m doing some data analysis, a little bit of programming, and some technical writing for an aviation related tech company on contract. If this turns into a full time thing great, otherwise I’ll probably go back to school - but the skills you have are far more than just mashing levers. Whatever happens, you’ll be ok.
 
Yeah as others have pointed out, I was not well informed on the process at the time, I was still in college and just sort of figuring out the steps as best I could. It's not so much my assumption that any of our conversations were privileged, it was moreso he knew that this was my first time obtaining a medical and I was unfamiliar with the procedure, so that when I left the office that day not holding a medical in hand I didn't think anything was out of the ordinary and he never said anything to that effect, it took me calling them weeks later to even find out what had happened.
 
They sure do make you consider not being forthright on the application.
even something simple like a broken finger, you will consider paying cash and using minimal identifying information and write "None" on the next one.
 
A consulting senior AME is worth their weight in gold in navigating difficult FAA medical issues. Their knowledge of the system and what the FAA wants to see can stop the revolving door of, "thanks, now we want..." and substantially increase the chances of a good result.
 
Sorry to hear about this. I was denied a medical back in 2013 for BS reasons. I did a bunch of tests and sent the results to the FAA. They were not satisfied. They wanted more tests. You can prove to the FAA that you are healthier than Superman and it will not matter. They always seem to want more. It is even worse trying to convince doctors that you need a list of tests done that are not medically necessary. There are a lot of things that I miss terribly about flying, but dealing with the FAA Aeromedical Branch is not one of them. I wish you the best of luck.
 
pilot4500 said:
Sorry to hear about this. I was denied a medical back in 2013 for BS reasons. I did a bunch of tests and sent the results to the FAA. They were not satisfied. They wanted more tests. You can prove to the FAA that you are healthier than Superman and it will not matter. They always seem to want more. It is even worse trying to convince doctors that you need a list of tests done that are not medically necessary. There are a lot of things that I miss terribly about flying, but dealing with the FAA Aeromedical Branch is not one of them. I wish you the best of luck.
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oh man, 1000x this.

I miss flying, I miss it a lot, but if I got more medical examinations than “1 time per year to appease the feds’ I probably would have been able to get on some treatment before things get bad.

“what do you mean people don’t get random burning sensations in their forearms? I’ve been dealing with that for years, mostly it goes away!”
 
Ugh... so sorry you're having to deal with that.

For my commiseration contribution, for several years there was an issue which made my AME unable to issue my medical. Not an actual medical issue and not a denial, just a paperwork SNAFU on the back-end (possibly some sort of record duplication, but I never got a completely clear answer). Each time I had to call up the Regional Flight Surgeon (who was very responsive and helpful) to untangle things. Still, the whole rigmarole took over a month so there was usually at least some amount of time I was grounded, and I, of course, had, "...but what if it doesn't get worked out?" rolling around in my head.

Hasn't happened for a few medicals now, but given I never really learned what the issue *was*, I'm always worried it'll pop up again.
 
Itchy said:
This thread has me a bit nervous for next march. My AME thinks it’s no problem, but: I did spend three days in a hospital last summer for a bizarre headache that made my pupils go different sized. Two cat scans and an mri later, and hasn’t come back. Not looking forward to the pile of BS ahead of me…
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You had a single episode of a sinus headache associated with a cold. Out of an abundance of caution, extensive testing was performed to rule out more serious conditions. You've had no reoccurrence of headaches.
 
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