Type 1 Diabetic Pilots for Equality

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Evanmac3332

New Member
[h=6]I would like to voice my opinion on Diabetic Type 1 Pilots. I am 19, It was my life dream to be a commercial airline pilot! I received ALL A's in high school and worked my entire life to be the best pilot there ever was! I even had a homemade cockpit in my room, that I asked to be made for Christmas when I was 15. I was diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus in January of this year. I will never be able to fly per the FAA's medical requirements for a class one Medical. While I understand the reasoning, I would like to point out that Canada has 15, Type 1 diabetic, commercial Airline captains who have never had an accident. This disease took my one and only DREAM. I will now have to venture to Canada for my dream. I don't think anyone will ever comprehend how much I wanted to be a pilot. I was quite displeased with the "take it or leave it" medical requirement for the Commercial Pilot Medical. In honesty, I believe it is time for the FAA to review its dated medical standards. The technology advances for this disease are astounding, and the standards per the FAA do not reflect these advances in medical technology. I learned quickly how to manage my disease, and I will NOT give up my dream to be a commercial pilot.Thank you for your time, and wall space.
[/h]I have created a facebook page for Diabetic Pilots in the fight for equal rights:

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You are entitled to your rights and opinion, but I think you should research Diabetes before you classify me as "unsafe."

If you are aware of the risks of Diabetes, you would also understand the risks of heart complications and other health risks that any pilot is subject to. In Canada, Commercial Diabetic Pilots are required to fly with a crew. I would be happy to give you information on Diabetes in detail.
 
Evanmac3332 said:
You are entitled to your rights and opinion, but I think you should research Diabetes before you classify me as "unsafe."

If you are aware of the risks of Diabetes, you would also understand the risks of heart complications and other health risks that any pilot is subject to. In Canada, Commercial Diabetic Pilots are required to fly with a crew. I would be happy to give you information on Diabetes in detail.
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I'm not sure where I stand on this, and with a crew seems like a good band-aid. It also seems like the holes in the swiss cheese waiting to line up. I don't know myself, but in the case of an emergency, can 1 pilot take care of everything on 2 pilot airplanes? From what I've seen thus far, I think not. If they could, they might as well certify the thing single pilot.

Can you get a 2nd class with diabetes?
 
I may be wrong, but I thought Canada only has allowed this (in some cases) if the diagnosis of type one diabetes happened while the pilot was already employed with a commercial carrier and already held a Class I medical. Otherwise you can only fly recreational. They also have very strict guidelines (and some pilots were not able to meet these and therefore not reinstated for commercial ops) that the pilot must meet and he also has to have a medical every 6 months. Is this not still the case? I am pretty sure you cannot just run off to Canada and get one.
 
z987k said:
I'm not sure where I stand on this, and with a crew seems like a good band-aid. It also seems like the holes in the swiss cheese waiting to line up. I don't know myself, but in the case of an emergency, can 1 pilot take care of everything on 2 pilot airplanes? From what I've seen thus far, I think not. If they could, they might as well certify the thing single pilot.

Can you get a 2nd class with diabetes?
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That would be a question for the doc but I believe you can hold a 2nd class in most senarios with diabetes, depending on what complications are caused by it. The FAA has safety regulations for a reason. If something happens to me before I am 65 and I lose my medical, I better go find something else to do. Thats a risk we all take. Talk to an AME. Most likely your Diabetes won't keep you out of aviation all together.
 
mods need to move this to ask a flight surgeon forum and let the good doc comment. The good doc has far more insight into this than we do.
 
I can't get an airline job for another year and a half thanks to Charlie's group as a result of 3407. This is all while people with less time and a year and a half older than me are getting hired. This is unfair and unjust. It has violated my rights. Lets lynch firebird2xc!

It is what it is, rules are rules, and if it makes the cockpit safer, than so be it. Same goes for medical diagnoses'.
 
It's because of the unfortunate event which ended up on YouTube, DPA. :)

On the issue at hand, I'm sure Walt would be more than happy to answer a specific question, but probably not so eager to engage in a dialogue.
 
Doug Taylor said:
It's because of the unfortunate event which ended up on YouTube, DPA. :)

On the issue at hand, I'm sure Walt would be more than happy to answer a specific question, but probably not so eager to engage in a dialogue.
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You like that correlation Doug? That's pretty good for my fatigued state. Off to work now.
 
You may not be able to be an airline pilot, but there are a ton of other flying jobs out there that only require a Second class medical. A lot of them (the majority?) are better than the airline jobs. You might do some more research on the industry before you throw in the towel.
 
At least he has the right attitude to be a pilot. Worked his whole life to be the best pilot ever! Did it in only 14 years, (discounting the first 5 years of his life.) Puts my last 35 years to shame, and I still haven't reached "BPE!" status. :)

All kidding aside, I can understand your frustration. I come from a family with a history of diabetes, and was diagnosed as pre-diabetic a few years ago. It sure was a wake up call! By changing my diet and getting more exercise, my A1C's are golden. But I walk a razor's edge.
 
z987k said:
I don't know myself, but in the case of an emergency, can 1 pilot take care of everything on 2 pilot airplanes? From what I've seen thus far, I think not. If they could, they might as well certify the thing single pilot.
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Yes one pilot is more than qualified and able to do the job of both. It is not ideal, but it is far from unsafe. I have always thought that people like this should be able to get a medical. I like having the restriction to a crew. What I find funny is that in most cases they will issue you a 3rd class but not a 1st class. So let me get this straight...I cannot fly an airplane in a crew environment where someone is there to take over, but I can fly my family around single pilot all day long. Stupid...but then again, most things that come from the FAA are.
 
A lot of colorblind men go through similar issues. I was fortunate enough to get my waiver before all of the rules changed, but that's a big dream killer too.
 
The trucking industry has to have medical exams also and diabetes that has to be regulated by insulin is a disqualifier as well, diabetes is a fairly serious problem that shouldn't be taken lightly.
 
I've had a grandmother-in-law and an ex that were both type 1. Even when trying their hardest sometimes the swings got the best of them and out they went.

Be a doctor in the fight against diabetes and then buy your own airplane and fly it with your class 3 medical. You won't miss the airlines at all!
 
highspeed said:
True dat.
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True true dat.

I'm "color blind". That's the sole reason I gave up my pursuit of a military career... after a handful of recruiters effectively laughed at me. I later found out that with the stupid dot tests there were plenty of military pilots who were color blind and simply memorized the charts. Then I found out many commercial pilots get waivers. Then I tool my light gun signal test and had no issue, and it started to make me seriously question the validity of many of the medical criteria. I later found out many military pilots go through a few different tests and find one that they pass and then never have another issue with it.

I once had an FAA Medical Examiner say "with these new colored GPS screens, they should get rid of color blindness waivers".... uhhhm, yeah, because we can see and distinguish symbols fine, yet you want to introduce arbitrary rules why?.... goes to who you how ignorant even doctors can be about the significance of issues.
 
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