Use the checklist

In addition to “AME Minute” and other valuable FAA medical playlists, other great channels include WestCoastFlyer featuring a young and experienced pilot who flies the Cirrus Vision Jet in California; CitationMax, with videos from a guy named Max who flies a Cessna Citation CJ3+; and MissionaryBushPilot, which takes you to the wilds of Papua, New Guinea, in a nicely equipped Daher Kodiak 100. A key takeaway from these great videos is all three pilots’ strict adherence to checklists and in-flight communication.

When it comes to your FAA medical certificate, checklist discipline is no less critical, especially now when there are substantial delays in the processing and issuance of deferred medical applications. As with preflighting the airplane, preflighting your upcoming FAA medical exam can save you frustrationt. A key point to remember is the FAA Aerospace Medical Certification Division (AMCD) is looking at every deferred application with the goal of finding a way to “yes” and the issuance of the medical certificate. However, the pathway to yes is not always easy or fast, so if you have a medical condition that may require FAA review before the medical is in hand, everything you can do to make the process go smoothly will benefit you in the end.

Just a few “checklist” tips to help with the process include doing your homework before you make an application. The AOPA website has abundant information about many medical conditions and what the FAA will need to clear your case. The key to providing information to the FAA via your AME at the time of the flight physical is to have “just enough, but not too much” paperwork. AMCD is a typical government bureaucracy with a lot of work to do and not enough human assets to efficiently handle the workload, so if you provide incomplete information, or provide far too much paperwork, the process will take a long time before you get a decision. When you have your complete packet of records, take them with you to the AME appointment. Your AME can now upload those records directly into the system, and that will save some time. Mailing hard copy records is an option, but it adds several weeks to the review process. If you receive a letter from the FAA asking for more information, you will see a PI number, and that is your permanent ID number in the FAA aeromedical system, so write that number on every page you’re sending. The FAA gets a lot of mail, and sometimes things get misplaced, so having the PI number will help in getting your records to the correct file.

Read the FAA letters carefully and more than once. They are often detailed and may ask for a lot of records, so be sure when you send the records, you’re sending them everything they requested.

Gary Crump is director of medical certification for the AOPA Pilot Information Center.

aopa.org/pps