Retiring federal air surgeon receives prestigious AOPA award
AOPA honored retiring Federal Air Surgeon Jon Jordan Monday with a Special Citation for his dedication to making the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine a world leader in civil aviation medical certification. One of Jordan's many accomplishments was the development of the AME Assisted Special Issuance that expands aviation medical examiners' (AMEs') medical certification reissuance authority.
"Dr. Jordan was instrumental in implementing the AME Assisted Special Issuance program that AOPA's Board of Aviation Medical Advisors proposed in 2001," said Luis Gutierrez, AOPA director of regulatory and certification policy. "The high number of special issuance medical authorizations and a correspondingly low number of in-flight medical incapacitations are evidence that Dr. Jordan and his team are demonstrating progressive, yet balanced, risk assessment policies that are allowing pilots to continue flying despite complex medical histories."
The AASI program allows AMEs to reissue special issuance medical certificates to pilots who have certain medical conditions that are considered serious enough to require a special issuance authorization but that can be renewed annually by an AME after initial review by the FAA.
As AOPA reported last week, the program just expanded. AMEs will soon be able to reissue special issuances for 35 conditions.
"Dr. Jordan has greatly improved the FAA's medical certification process with AASI, and he's taken other measures that will continue to advance the system in years to come," Gutierrez said. "The next federal air surgeon will have large shoes to fill, but AOPA will build a solid relationship with the person and work to continue streamlining the medical certification process."
Jordan will be retiring this month after 14 years as the federal air surgeon.
December 19, 2005
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