Know your responsibilities
As you are learning in your flight training, the FAA requires that all pilots demonstrate medical qualification before being allowed to operate an aircraft in solo flight. The medical standards and the certification procedures are set out in Part 67 of the federal aviation regulations. Essentially, what is involved is visiting one of the more than 5,000 AMEs located throughout the country. An AME typically is a local physician who has received authority from the FAA to conduct aviation medical exams. You can locate an AME on the FAA Web site or through the members-only section of AOPA Online. At the AME's office, you must complete a medical application form (FAA Form 8500-8). You will then be given a medical exam.
The application form consists of four parts: a Privacy Act statement, instructions for completing the form, a page to be completed by the pilot, and a page to be completed by the examiner.
The page to be completed by the pilot is probably most important to you. In addition to providing information such as name, address, and physical description, the form will ask detailed questions about your medical history. It will specifically ask about any admissions to a hospital (at any time) and about any visits to health professionals in the preceding three years. It will also specifically ask about any history of frequent or severe headaches, episodes of unconsciousness, diabetes, and allergies. One tricky question asks about the current use of any medication, even nonprescription. One rather general question, which could prove tricky, asks about "Other illness, disability, or surgery." For any positive answers, you should be prepared to provide a brief summary and a time frame.
You should also be prepared to answer questions about your driving record (especially related to alcohol- or drug-related convictions, and including any loss of driving privileges) and about any nontraffic convictions.
The instruction page is a part that seems to be most overlooked, but it may provide the best information about how the airman is to answer some of the medical questions. For example, in response to the open-ended question of "Visits to Health Professional Within Last Three Years," routine dental and eye exams need not be listed, and visits for counseling need not be listed unless related to a substance abuse or psychiatric condition. And, the instructions page advises that providing the airman's Social Security number is optional.
The Privacy Act statement generally informs the applicant about the information that is required to be submitted--as noted, providing your SSN is optional--and informs the applicant about how the information may be used. For example, it may used "to provide basic airman certification and qualification information to the public upon request."
At the bottom of the form, you must sign your name. When you do this, you are authorizing the National Driver Register to provide information to the FAA concerning your driving record so that the FAA may access information that will verify what you've reported. Second, you are certifying that all statements and answers provided on the form are truthful. The form specifically warns you that anyone who knowingly and willfully makes false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations may be fined up to $250,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
Getting your medical certificate can appear to be a cumbersome task, and perhaps a scary task if you could be criminally prosecuted for your answers. The process will be smoother if you know the questions and are prepared to answer them.
Kathy Yodice is an attorney with Yodice Associates in Washington, D.C., which provides legal counsel to AOPA and administers AOPA's legal services plan. She is an instrument-rated private pilot.
Members can use AOPA's interactive TurboMedical software for a step-by-step guide through the medical form application.
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