Congress Examines Pilot Medical Record Fraud

CONGRESS EXAMINES PILOT MEDICAL RECORD FRAUD
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195656)
Does the FAA need to do more to ensure that pilots are not lying
about dangerous medical problems so they can keep their
certification? That's the question that was discussed in
Washington, D.C., on Wednesday at a hearing

(http://transportation.house.gov/hear...spx?NewsID=217)
before the House Subcommittee on Aviation. Investigators with the
DOT Office of Inspector General say they have discovered thousands
of "egregious cases" of airmen lying about debilitating medical
conditions on their applications for airman medical certificates.
The FAA said it would be too labor-intensive to cross-check and
verify every application, and the safety risk would not justify
the resources it would consume. The subcommittee said that
response was "unacceptable," and this week's hearing was part of
the continuing effort to address the issue. Among the witnesses
was AOPA President Phil Boyer, who proposed some simple steps
(http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsite...17medical.html)
to inform and educate pilots and cross-check a random sample of
applications.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195656

This begs the question, by what means did the DOT IG substantiate the
thousands of alleged "egregious cases" of airmen lying about
debilitating medical conditions on their applications for airman
medical certificates?