AviationBanter - View Single Post - FAA petition to eliminate Class 3 medical for Private Pilots

**Jim[_26_]**

On 10/31/2010 9:56 AM, Mxsmanic wrote:
writes:

"FAA's medical exemption is currently exclusive to LSA aircraft,
artificially creating an unfair, unnecessary and exclusive market
concession for a few LSA manufacturers. FAA medical standards are
literally being exploited by industry to force thousands of older
pilots to stop using their certified aircraft; so they must either buy
a new LSA or quit flying,"

I think that is essentially true.

Not necessarily. A pilot who has failed a medical cannot fly LSA. An older
pilot would have to anticipate failing his next medical and then let the
medical lapse rather than take it in order to use the LSA route, and even then
it would be technically illegal (you can't fly LSA if you know that you would
not be medically qualified for a PPL).

If it's safe enough for a pilot to fly a new $150,000 LSA with no
medical, why isn't it safe for the same pilot to fly a 25 or 30 year
old Cessna 172 or 182 or a 25 or 30 year old Piper Cherokee?

What do you think?

I think all the medical standards imposed by aviation authorities are too
stringent. Medical incapacitation is extraordinarily rare. And before you say
that this is so because the exams are strict, look at the world of
automobiles: Even though most jurisdictions only require you to be able to see
reasonably well in order to get a driver's license, medical incapacitation of
automobile drivers is still extremely rare.

I agree that automotive medical incapacitation leading to an accident is
rare, but the driving environment is quite a bit different than the
flying environment. Someone feeling "something wrong in the chest" can
pull over to the side of the road and call for assistance thus avoiding
an automobile accident. It may be that such medical events are
extremely common, but never get reported because no accident happens.
Or never get reported because automobile accidents are extremely common.