Dr. Brent Blue is an FAA senior aviation medical examiner and airline transport pilot with more than 9,000 hours of flight time. Through his company, Aeromedix.com, he introduced pulse oximetry and digital carbon monoxide detection to general aviation in 1995.
The possibility of fainting is a concern in the cockpit environment. Fainting, passing out, or collapsing, called syncope medically, in simple terms is a self-protective mechanism the brain uses to prevent damage to its tissue.
The FAA in December, without warning, announced that airmen whose medical certificates were deferred by aviation medical examiners would now be sent denial letters if additional information is required, with the admonition to ask for reconsideration.
The FAA is now fixing a problem that is not a problem—lying on color vision testing. As of January 1, 2025, aviation medical examiners will rely on internet-based tests to detect defective color vision.
“Don’t do nuttin’ stupid” was a small plaque on the panel of a Stearman I bought many years ago. I used it as a reminder to get my legs ready before every landing to keep those tail fins behind me when landing.
The FAA’s 8500-8 medical application form may be the most misunderstood form pilots must complete and renew anywhere from every five years to every six months depending on the pilot’s age and requested class of medical certificate. I will try to make sense of some of the common problems on the form, which may be an impossible task.
I recently learned about the $6 million settlement Neil Armstrong’s family received from the hospital that performed bypass surgery on him at age 82. He died two weeks post-op from complications in August 2012.
Bruce Landsberg, vice chairman of the NTSB, made a critical point during the NTSB aviation safety summit “Navigating Mental Health in Aviation.” To paraphrase, he said, “If the FAA gives pilots 60 days to respond to their request for records, then the FAA should only have 60 days to make their medical certificate decisions.”
So, you are playing goalie for your 16-year-old soccer player when he puts one right in your face. Your nose is bleeding and to the ER you go, worried your snozola is permanently deformed.