AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2015 - 102

NEWS & NOTES

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

PILOT PROTECTION SERVICES

|
BY MIKE YODICE

Medical denial

AOPA Pilot
Protection Services

What comes next?

THE FAA HAS STATUTORY AUTHORITY to deny medical certificate applications. It exercises this authority
using the medical standards set forth in 14 CFR Part 67.
There are two distinct options available to pilots who
wish to question and/or dispute a medical denial-FAA
reconsideration and NTSB review.
FAR 67.409(a) establishes that a person may seek
reconsideration within 30 days of a denial by an aviation medical examiner, but AMEs are designees of the
FAA and rarely deny applications-instead they defer
the decision to the FAA. So, more commonly, it's the
federal air surgeon, a regional flight surgeon, or the
manager of aeromedical certification division that
denies a medical application by sending you a letter
telling you the reason for the denial.
Practically speaking, reconsideration is available
regardless of who does the denying. Essentially, in
seeking reconsideration, a person is asking the FAA to
reconsider the denial and to reassess the person's eligibility for medical certification. The request must be
made in writing and normally should include medical
information in support of the request, such as doctor
statements and test results. In reviewing the request,
the FAA may also consider the person's eligibility for
a special issuance medical certificate (authorization).
If the FAA is unpersuaded by the request, it will issue
another letter confirming the denial.

A final denial by the administrator may be appealed to the
NTSB. More accurately, an airman may file with the NTSB a petition for review of the administrator's denial, often referred to as
an appeal. It's notable that the referenced "administrator" includes
the federal air surgeon, the manager of aeromedical certification
division, and regional flight surgeons, but does not include an aviation medical examiner. In other words, an AME's denial is not
considered a final denial by the FAA.
The petition must be filed within 60 days of the denial and it
basically constitutes a request for a hearing with an NTSB law
judge. At the hearing, the petitioner and the FAA will both present
evidence and expert testimony to support their positions, and the
law judge will make "findings and conclusions upon all material
issues of fact, credibility of witnesses, law, and discretion presented on the record." In the end, it's often an uphill battle for the
petitioner, as he or she has the burden of proving eligibility for
medical certification.
Mike Yodice counsels legal service plan/pilot protection services
members on such issues as FAA compliance and enforcement.
He is an active pilot and regularly flies a Piper J-3 Cub and
Cherokee 180.

ON THE

WEB

To learn more about AOPA Pilot
Protection Services, visit the website
(www.aopa.org/pps).

ANSWERS FOR PILOTS

AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TASKS YOU CAN DO YOURSELF
If inclement winter weather is keeping you on the
ground, make the most of your time in the hangar by
working on your airplane. The FAA allows aircraft
owners to perform many preventive maintenance
tasks, provided they do not involve complex assembly
operations (see FAR Part 43, Appendix A, paragraph
C-Preventive Maintenance).
102 | AOPA PILOT February 2015

For a complete list of do-it-yourself tasks, read
February's online Answers for Pilots (www.aopa.org/
Pilot-Resources/Answers-for-Pilots.aspx). If you have
questions, please call the aviation technical specialists in the Pilot Information Center, Monday through
Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, at 800-USAAOPA (872-2672).

http://www.aopa.org/pps http://www.aopa.org/pps http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Answers-for-Pilots.aspx http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Answers-for-Pilots.aspx

AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2015