New 3rd Class standards?

[Gary F]

AVweb contacted senior aviation medical examiner Dr. Brent Blue, who said, "I think the FAA is actually starting to float the idea of either dropping or relaxing third class medicals."
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1806-full.html#203880
http://www.avweb.com/podcast/podcas...icalCertificate_203881-1.html?kw=RelatedStory

I think that at the very least the FAA should allow an AME a little more discretion in approving 3rd class medicals. AMEs could be given a list of documentation requirements so that less stuff would need to go to Oklahoma City. Another option would be to create a 4th Class medical with some restrictions between 3rd class and LSA which could be issued by an AME without going through the special issuance process. This could fix the problem that prevents those who have been previously rejected from flying under LSA rules.

 

[Jim Logajan]

As I understand the arguments, a medical exam even every two years, no matter how rigorous and thorough, is simply too long a period to be of value, safety-wise. Self-evaluations are the only actions that can make a difference. Another argument against the current standards is that no facts (accident statistics and health physiology) allegedly support its continuance. It is plausible that on passing a physical, a pilot may erroneously fail to perform their own honest health-check preflight because someone else "more qualified" did that for them a year ago.

While these all seem reasonable to me, the arguments do not seem likely to be new to the FAA, so they may operate on the rule that "even if it isn't helping, if it ain't hurting, don't fix it." They may or may not be convinced that besides not helping, it is a waste of time and money. I'm not sure they are ever motivated to reduce such wastes.