FAA Medical Division Status

[jobti]

Before I decided that at 70 years old I just wasn't going to climb up on that treadmill any more, I had an SI because of the heart problem. I knew what was coming, so every year, about a month BEFORE my medical expired I went to the cardiologist office for a stress test. The results of that went in with all the rest of the paperwork and it worked just fine. Now it's light sport only, but that's OK. Like I said, I don't have to do the treadmill thing any longer!!!!!

[Bill Greenwood]

I was at a aviation conference a few years ago and the head medical person of the whole FAA, Dr. Silverman spoke. He's seems a pretty honest guy,and he freely admitted that actual medical causes were only a tiny percent of all fatal accidents. Of all fatal accidents, medical causes are about 1/2 of one percent. Of that half, about 60% involve drugs or alcholol; thus only a about 40% x 1/2 of one % = about .2 are actuall accidents where a medical condition, not a bad habit like drinking or flying on drugs is the real cause.
Despite this admission, the FAA medical people continue to focus a lot of effort and expense and manpower on these medical issues. For some people they cause a lot of extra expense and effort just to fly as a private pilot.
There are at least two big flaws in the FAA's current approach. First, as I wrote above. medical issues as a true and absolute cause of fatal accidents are about as a rare a "man bites dog". I haven't made this up, if you doubt go look up AOPA Nall report or FAA statistics. What kills most gen av pilots is flying into bad weather; and it is not always contingent on whether or not they have an instrument rating. Sometimes the IFR rating and a lot of techno gadgets in the cockpit just seduce a pilot to fly into worse weather than they might otherwise; like the corporate jet that crashed here a few years ago on an ifr approach.
Most warbird and acro type accidents are less likely to be weather related, the main cause of these types is some type of hard manuevering or acro flight near the ground with loss of control and a crash when there is not room to recover.
Just plain bad flying, like stall spin on landing or takeoff can take some of any type gen av or private pilot also.
So the FAA approach does nothing to really address these causes of fatalities year after year. My insurance co makes me do an IFR recurrency check with an instructor every year, just to maintain my insurance. I flew not one hour of real IFR this year, no significant practice sessions, but I was able to pass my IFR test. So I am all current and legal, and can load up 5 passengers in my plane and fly an IFR departure and approach here at Aspen in real IMC conditions,surrounded by 14,000' mountains. Not too smart and not something adressed in a meaningful way by any FAA policy or reason. I have an acro competency card, good down to 800' for rolls even with a passenger. Even without the card I can go out and do loops and even stalls and spins as long as it is above 1500 feet, even with a passenger, even in something like a T-6 or a P-51 that is not so forgiving and needs a lot more margin. All FAA legal, not very smart , not as much margin for safety as we might have. By the way you can't fly in an airshow with a passenger, but can do the same stuff with one or more passengers just outside the show.
The FAA focuses very little on ability and even less on judgement in these situations.

2nd. the other big flaw in FAA thinking is that somehow flying is a huge physical stress for pilots and they need to be in athlete shape to fly a plane safely. Thus things like a stress treadmill. Have you ever seen or flow a private gen av plane big enough to run around in? It's nonsense.
For me, and most of us I am sure, flying is relaxing. It is what I do for fun, to relieve or offset stress. It is not the cause of stress.
I am more likely to have stress doing my income tax or trying to renew a mortgage or on hold with the bank or credit card company, not in flying.
Of course I try to lessen any stress by flying in good weather on nice days.

Think of the better results if resources of the FAA and gen av pilots were spent on meaningful pilot training, but skill related and judgement related, than the focus the FAA has now on medical issues.

One other example, for years the FAA allowed commuter airlines to hire pilots with a s little as 500 hours total time; while forcing experienced pilots to retire at age 60. Bureacracy protects its own iterests and changes very slowly. Thankfully they have changed on these two issues.

[Joe LaMantia]

Thanks Bill!,

You are right on in your assessment, the whole medical issue is political in that our congress just wants to cover their a_ _ es if there is ever a crash, the press loves those stories. The airlines are really where the rubber hits the road on this, since the flying public needs all these safety reassurances. The FAA is a big organization and in the public view along with the rest of the govt when it comes to $ so this medical division is under staffed and under funded. You are right on slow changes in bureacracy, this is true in both govt and the private sector it only takes place when facing "going out of business" becomes a reality. What we get out of politicians is always some short term fix to calm down the public that doesn't actually solve the root causes of a problem. Your post is based on facts rather than BS which is what runs Washington.

Thanks Again,

Joe