AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013 - 98

NEWS & NOTES
ON THE

WEB

MEMBER SERVICES

AOPA Pilot Protection Services guards both your pilot and medical
certificates to protect your freedom to fly (www.aopa.org/pps).

Wiley Post and medical
certification
Explaining monocular vision
THE FAMOUS AVIATOR, WILEY POST, was from Oklahoma and was
the first pilot to fly around the world. Post developed one of the
first pressure suits and discovered the existence of the jet stream.
On August 15, 1935, Post and American humorist Will Rogers were
killed when Post's aircraft crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near
Point Barrow in Alaska. Post had previously lost vision in one of
his eyes, so that brings me to the reason for my article.
All pilots are required to have periodic eye examinations, usually at the time of the FAA physical exam. The name of the chart
that has the numbers in rows is called a Snellen chart. What does it
mean when your physician informs you that your vision is 20/20?

BY WARREN
SILBERMAN, D.O.

AOPA Pilot
Protection Services

"stereopsis." This is the ability to tell that an airplane is parked
next to another airplane and is not only next to but one row in
front of the other airplane. This is important when you are taxiing or having to make an emergency landing in a field of trees.
A person can become monocular in a short period of time, such
as developing a tumor in the eye that requires surgical removal of
the globe, or in a much slower process such as hemorrhage into
the retina. The FAA requires a six-month period of adjustment to
allow time for the brain to adjust to what the physicians call the
"monocular clues." A person who either suddenly goes from normal visual acuity in the one eye to something worse than 20/200

As of December 31, 2011, there were 278 first class airmen, 374 second class
airmen, and 1,328 third class airmen with a monocular vision waiver. There were
approximately 600,000 airmen with medical certificates in 2011.
It means that you can see at 20 feet what a normal person sees at
20 feet. 20/20 Snellen visual acuity is considered normal, although
many people can see better than that. The FAA requires a person
to be able to correct to the vision standard appropriate for the
class of medical applied for, meaning there are no uncorrected
vision acuity standards. Being able to correct to a vision standard
simply means that your eyes are being assisted by contact lenses
or eyeglasses.
An aviator who can only see at 20 feet in one eye what a normal
person sees at 200 feet is considered by the FAA to be "monocular"-even if the pilot was wearing glasses or contacts.
The brain uses the eyes to be able to discern the spatial difference between objects. The experts say that this is only adequate
up to about a 50-foot distance. The medical term for this is

must wait six months before applying for a waiver so the brain
can adjust to seeing objects out of the single eye. If the visual acuity is lost over a gradual period of time, greater than six months,
the waiver application process can begin as soon as the monocular vision diagnosis is established. The type of waiver is called a
SODA or Statement of Demonstrated Ability, and is issued following the successful completion of a medical flight test, conducted
through the local Flight Standards District Office.

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98 | AOPA PILOT December 2013

means AOPA can more effectively face down the growing
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to come, and strengthening
our voice in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Warren Silberman is the former manager of FAA Aerospace
Medical Certification and a doctor of osteopathic medicine. A
pilot since 1986, he is recognized nationally as an expert in aerospace/preventative medicine, and is a regular writer for AOPA's
Pilot Protection Services.

a suite of online flight planning tools and resources,
help and advice from our
aviation experts through the
AOPA Pilot Information
Center, and more (www.aopa.
org/Membership).

http://www.aopa.org/pps http://www.aopa.org/pps http://www.aopa.org/pps http://www.aopa.org/Membership http://www.aopa.org/Membership

AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2013

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