Hello all! new to the forum but have been poking around other related posts for awhile now. My situation is this. I was diagnosed with add in middle school,i was struggling in class and my parents thought it would be a good idea to get me drugged up. 1 appointment later I was prescribed adderal and took it for a few months but stopped because of bad side effects. Turns out I was just stressed about other factors in my life (divorce, family issues etc) and not in fact add or adhd. Fast forward to march 2021, I decided to start flight training and applied for a first class medical. I was immediately deferred because I disclosed the previous diagnosis. I went to a HIMS AME, paid the 2,000$, did a day of testing and passed with flying colors. once the full report was put together I faxed it to the number on my deferral paperwork and the waiting game began. After calling Oklahoma City more times that should even be necessary I was finally told that they had received and processed the paperwork. this was mid July 2021. I have been 'under review' since and was told in October that my case had been bumped up to 'priority review.' Ive read plenty of stories about how long this process can take and expected a wait but I'm now passing the 10 month mark since this whole process began which is causing quite a bit of frustration. My boyfriend Is a CFI and according to him I have done all the ground school I can and just need to build solo hours, cross country etc but can't because I still don't have my medical. Is there anything I can do other than just sit and wait? Im starting to think something with my paperwork might have gotten messed up on their end or possibly they are just backlogged/understaffed because of coronavirus? would it be worthwhile to schedule an appointment with another AME and see if they are willing to call my flight surgeon and check on the status? Any input is greatly appreciated, Thanks!
I was speaking with my AME just a few days ago. He had just gotten done with a conference call to OKC. His contacts were all complaining about how much of a backlog they were fighting. He was able to get a couple of his cases taken care of that during the conference call. One of their remarks was "if the person hasn't gotten any worse, I don't see why you can't approve". He said "fine, I will, just send me the deferral back". They agreed, and he's made some progress! He is a Senior AME, with USAF background. He now works the AME gig as a side hustle while his daily job is wound care at a local hospital group. He has me all lined up to get through my third-class now, juts got to get the 24 hour Holter monitor study done next Monday.
This. There is zero excuse for it to take this long. This is a backlog the agency created for itself through unreasonable regulations and failure to allow AMEs to issue a broader spectrum of medicals when all the info from the specialists say there is no issue, such as appears to be your case.
I agree 100% but it is frustrating to call every day and get the same 'high call volume' message over and over. I had to call the Okc 149 times on November 2nd just to get put in the queue to actually talk to someone, and the person I spoke to could only tell me that it is still 'under review. '
Congress has very little investment in aviation, until flights get cancelled and it affects them. I just want my medical, I am fit to fly and that has been proven by the HIMS AME I saw to get this sorted out. I see no reason for this to be this difficult, maybe they just want us to lie on the med express forms?
If the AME is able to issue and not defer does the FAA take 9 months to start asking questions, or do they get to that right away?
Most congressmen have a person or two in the office that handles "constituent services" where they push on the various federal bureaucracy for you. THey can't change a decision or bend the rules, but they can put some pressure on a slow moving queue at times.
If your congressman’s office contacts the FAA on your behalf your medical case will be moved up in priority. Try it; you have nothing to lose.
For your Congressperson, this has nothing to do with aviation, it is about constituent services when a voter in their district is getting the shaft by the feds. It doesn't matter whether you or they are "R" or "D" in this situation. Your rep knows that if they (their staff) help you out, you are likely to say something good about them to others, and that is an inexpensive way for them to get votes.
I sent an email to my senator. Got a letter from the FAA two weeks later. Obviously it depends on your senator but what they will do is file a "Congressional Inquiry" with the FAA.
