The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has updated features pertaining to the medical application process, hoping to educate pilots on submitting complete applications.
The FAA’s online platform for a Medical Certificate or Medical Clearance application, MedXPress, now includes added resources, like an aviation medical examiner (AME) locator and an online Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners. The changes follow a stakeholder listening session in April where the FAA agreed to abandon a proposed policy change regarding medical certifications. Instead, the agency committed to implementing suggestions from the aviation community to improve airman medical procedures.
Last December, the FAA announced a new policy that would have upended the current submission process. Currently, AME’s defer incomplete applications to the FAA for review. However, the proposed policy, scheduled to take effect on January 1, would have immediately denied incomplete applications. This controversial announcement led aviation groups, including the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), to urge the FAA to issue a stay on the policy. Their objections were ultimately heard during the April session.
During the listening session, the FAA said that more than half of their 450,000 annual applications are delayed, often due to missing documentation, which has created a significant back log of applications. FAA Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup said the agency is looking at initiatives to speed up operations.
The MedExpress platform is designed to streamline procedures between examiners and applicants. While applicants can upload required documentation to AMEs before examinations, many applications are submitted incomplete and cannot be changed after submission. This forces AMEs to defer applications to the FAA, even after a successful examination, because they cannot certify them on the spot. These deferrals can add weeks to the certification process and bog down FAA administrative efforts.
A major point of contention from aviation groups over the now-shelved policy is that it would have grounded many pilots for clerical errors. Pilots who received an immediate denial would, in many cases, not be eligible to fly until undergoing a lengthy reconsideration process, which could take months.
Another concern was that these denials would become part of a pilot’s permanent record. The FAA has previously stressed the importance of employers thoroughly checking medical histories when hiring. A denial, for any reason, could shake a pilot’s confidence in their ability to procure work.
Going forward, the FAA has expressed their commitment to working with the aviation community on coming up with non-punitive solutions to improve the medical submission procedure.
