FAA required tests after unexplained Loss of Consciousness

A

Anonymous10

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I'm a pre-solo student pilot but getting close to solo. The other day, at the end of my most recent lesson, I lost consciousness in the middle of landing. I remember pulling the nose up a bit to round out just after the displaced threshold, and the next thing I remember I was holding the nose off the runway while it gently lowered on its own. I'm pretty sure my instructor didn't notice, because all he did was ask me if I noticed a side load when we landed. Ironically, I missed one of my better landings.

I want to get all my paperwork/tests done before I try for my 3rd class medical.

I've never had an unexplained LOC before.
 
o_O Whelp... that's not a good sign. I honestly feel very bad for you, and for saying this... but that's not a trait that I'd want in a PiC in a plane I was in.

Edit - do you think that you were tensing your muscles a lot beforehand?
 
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Anonymous10 said:
I'm a pre-solo student pilot but getting close to solo. The other day, at the end of my most recent lesson, I lost consciousness in the middle of landing. I remember pulling the nose up a bit to round out just after I the displaced threshold, and the next thing I remember I was holding the nose off the runway while it gently lowered on its own. I'm pretty sure my instructor didn't notice, because all he did was ask me if I noticed a side load when we landed. Ironically, I missed one of my better landings.

I want to get all my paperwork/tests done before I try for my 3rd class medical.

I've never had an unexplained LOC before.
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Sorry folks, I hope the OP comes back and gives us more details, but this reeks of a troll post.
 
could be trolling. In any event it must be reported.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Agree on the reporting… but when? Immediately or at renewal?
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The OP says they don't have their medical yet. So on the initial form, they would have to select Yes for Unexplained Loss of Consciousness.
 
Thanks for your replies. I appreciate the comments.

Not a troll. I wish it was. As I was starting to round out, everything seemed to get smaller. The next thing I knew, I was finishing up the landing. You could say I was on human autopilot.

I don't want this to be a showstopper, as I've wanted to fly my whole life. But I don't want to crash and kill myself and/or anyone else, either.

Worst case, I do a consult with an AME and see if I have any chance of passing a medical, and if so, how involved it would be.
 
I had a friend who had a brief loss of consciousness on final…needed a pacemaker.

Whether that’s the OP’s case or not, it seems to me that it’s a health problem that needs to be resolved before even thinking about whether or how it affects a flight physical.
 
Anonymous10 said:
I'm a pre-solo student pilot but getting close to solo. The other day, at the end of my most recent lesson, I lost consciousness in the middle of landing. I remember pulling the nose up a bit to round out just after the displaced threshold, and the next thing I remember I was holding the nose off the runway while it gently lowered on its own. I'm pretty sure my instructor didn't notice, because all he did was ask me if I noticed a side load when we landed. Ironically, I missed one of my better landings.

I want to get all my paperwork/tests done before I try for my 3rd class medical.

I've never had an unexplained LOC before.
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Well.

that’s a really good indication you’re over controlling during the flare.

hope you resolve the medical issue.
 
I'm not a doctor, but it sounds to me like the OP is describing a long blink. How would you continue to flare if unconscious? And how would the CFI not notice the pilot flying's loss of consciousness?
 
From the description and apparent timing of the event, this sounds like 3 to at most 5 seconds of "spacing out", more like a micro-sleep that many have experienced on a long drive, particularly under difficult visual conditions (i.e. sunset), and a good, if late, warning that it's time to pull off the road for a break.

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/what-to-know-microsleep

Rather than defaulting to saying this is unexplained LOC, the OP should evaluate the conditions (fatigue, hydration) that led up to this event and determine what is the more likely situation, before going off to report it on a medical. But be honest, if you were "fresh" and well-hydrated, this could be something else, so don't immediately brush it off.
 
It was just an 8 G flare. You'll build up tolerance, don't worry.

Not sure why you would post something like this here if not a troll. You should want to get this checked out/fixed before you fly again so you don't die or kill someone else. Who cares what the FAA wants at this point?
 
Sounds like you blacked out. Not truly fainted. You can still walk talk interact ‘blacked out” just not aware. Could have been stress. Hyperventilating a bit.
Going to be lot to sort out and prove to FAA nothing wrong. Going to be a long time till solo.
 
Lindberg said:
It sounds impossible, actually.
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I close my eyes, cross my fingers, and hold my breath every time I'm landing... it's very scary watching the earth rush up toward you when you're sober. Sometimes I hold my breath too long and when I wake up, I've put the plane back in the hangar and driven home.
 
I must have miss understood the new rules as I thought we were no longer allowed to call a troll a troll on the medical forum ... o_O
 
Were you landing into the setting sun? Could be flicker vertigo from the idling prop.
 
I'm not a troll, and I don't mind being called one. I do appreciate everyone's concern.

I agree with the good doctor. I'll let my flight instructor know: no solo for now, but I can qualify and even do my stage 2 check ride, after telling my CFI, and we can do a lot of other work, too. And I can continue studying my aviation knowledge - I'm way behind in it compared to flying skills.

I'll get my MD involved, my last one left several months ago under less than stellar circumstances.

I'll keep you apprised.
 
TCABM said:
How do you know you were unconscious if the CFI did not identify it?
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He said he doesn't remember anything between roundout and being on the ground. But clearly he flared the airplane and kept it under control through the touchdown. So he was aware of his surroundings and operating within them. Memory doesn't really work the way we think it does though.

Maybe inattentional blindness? Like when you're distracted thinking about work on the drive home and you find yourself in the driveway but don't remember making the turn into your neighborhood.

I think before doing anything else, the OP should have a conversation with the CFI about what the CFI observed.
 
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Anonymous10 said:
I'm a pre-solo student pilot but getting close to solo. The other day, at the end of my most recent lesson, I lost consciousness in the middle of landing. I remember pulling the nose up a bit to round out just after the displaced threshold, and the next thing I remember I was holding the nose off the runway while it gently lowered on its own. I'm pretty sure my instructor didn't notice, because all he did was ask me if I noticed a side load when we landed. Ironically, I missed one of my better landings.

I want to get all my paperwork/tests done before I try for my 3rd class medical.

I've never had an unexplained LOC before.
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Did you actually lose consciousness, or you just can't recall the events clearly? In a high stress situation, for example, like the moments leading up to a car crash (or equally in a low stress situation such as walking your dog), it is not unusual to not be able to recall all the details clearly.
 
Annonymous10 said:
I'm not a troll, and I don't mind being called one. I do appreciate everyone's concern.

I agree with the good doctor. I'll let my flight instructor know: no solo for now, but I can qualify and even do my stage 2 check ride, after telling my CFI, and we can do a lot of other work, too. And I can continue studying my aviation knowledge - I'm way behind in it compared to flying skills.

I'll get my MD involved, my last one left several months ago under less than stellar circumstances.

I'll keep you apprised.
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If you tell the FAA you lost consciousness and there's no satisfactory explanation why, it is entirely possible that you will never get a medical certificate. At that point you'll be limited to flying gliders, ultralights, amd balloons.
 
Here's what I remember. At the end of the final, and just as I started rounding out just past the displaced threshold my view shrank to a small circle. The next thing I knew, I felt I was slightly moving the stick to keep the nose up as I was finishing the rollout and opened my eyes at the same time. I think I heard the tires chirp, too.
 
Lowflynjack said:
It was just an 8 G flare. You'll build up tolerance, don't worry.

Not sure why you would post something like this here if not a troll. You should want to get this checked out/fixed before you fly again so you don't die or kill someone else. Who cares what the FAA wants at this point?
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I absolutely agree. I've already started the process to get checked out.
 
1) Take care of your health. Go to your personal doctor. It could be a one time dehydration, etc. as others have mentioned. It may have seemed like a long time, but apparently it was a few seconds at the most. I'm not even sure it's legitimate to call it becoming unconscious.

2) Would not solo until get this figured out.

3) Do not talk to an AME unless you figure this out. Don't go to an AME unless you're sure you will pass. If you can't get to that point, then move on from flying.
 
Annonymous10 said:
Thanks for your replies. I appreciate the comments.

Not a troll. I wish it was. As I was starting to round out, everything seemed to get smaller. The next thing I knew, I was finishing up the landing. You could say I was on human autopilot.

I don't want this to be a showstopper, as I've wanted to fly my whole life. But I don't want to crash and kill myself and/or anyone else, either.

Worst case, I do a consult with an AME and see if I have any chance of passing a medical, and if so, how involved it would be.
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Your objective should be to work with your doctors to formulate a satisfactory explanation of what caused the event. An immediate assessment by a doctor after the event would have been ideal, completely with a good set of vitals. Only once you can rule out the "bad" stuff will you be able to start walking down the medical certification path. Good luck.
 
Hmmm…. So there I was. On the USS Eisenhower in the cockpit of a T-2C Buckeye. We needed 2 touch and go’s and 4 traps to qual.

When done, we were given instructions on who to join up with to go back to the beach. I was given those instructions, but only had 2 touch snd go’s and THREE traps… problem. “Request to switch to a rep”…

That guy ASSURED me I had my 2 and 4, was a qual and complete. Oooooooh…. Of course, now I remember. Not.
 
Know what ya get when ya cross and elephant with a rhinoceros?

Elephino….
 
Velocity173 said:
Was it a good landing?
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I'd say it was one of my better ones. All the instructor did was ask me if I felt the side load. Of course I didn't, or if I did it didn't make it to my conscious.

The nose was still up and we were rolling when my conscious came back. It was up long enough for good aerodynamic braking so we could make the usual turnoff without braking hard.

I have a lesson with him scheduled in a couple of weeks, so I'll ask him then if he noticed anything different about me when we landed. I put the plane to bed while he went flying in a Citabria.

I am going through the regular medical establishment to see what they can find. There's a woman who is the ground crew volunteer head at the Young Eagle's event at the local airport. She knows of someone who had some kind of neurological issue who went to some neurologist on the East Coast who gave him every neurological test known to man. I'll see if I can get that Dr's contact information from her.

I know it won't be cheap, but hearses don't have hitches.
 
I’m not a Med Guy but the condition appears to be Syncope.

As others have said; see a Non-AME doc to resolve the issue. Another thought is for
YOU to become familiar with all the causes of the problem. There appears to be multiple factors to this . Some are temporary and others are correctable.

Among the causes are dehydration, injury and hernia.

Don’t ask me how I found out about this.
 
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