I think I really messed up. Please Help

Hello

I think I really messed up on my medical and I'm afraid it could be revoked. In 2008 I got a dui but didn't even start flying until 2013. It was difficult to get my first medical but I did. I reported it again on my second and third. On my third year my doctor told me that since I had previously reported it that I no longer had to. I remember this because he joked about having had one himself. For the past few years I haven't reported it. I just filled out my application for my next one, its tomorrow, and after doing some research realized that I do, in fact, have to report it every year. I am so afraid that it will be revoked for "falsifying". It was totally accidental but I don't think the FAA will see it that way. Should I tell my AME tomorrow at my appointment or wait and hire an attorney to help. I just got a new job with a class date in August. I don't want to mess this up. Please help.

 

Previously reported, no change. Move on.

 

So just tell my ame I made a mistake and check Yes instead of NO? I put No on the previous three medicals, will that count as lying?

 

yup ... check yes. put in your brief comments. AME will put in his. He may defer. He may issue. FAA will respond, but it will not be treated as fraud.

 

I think I would say something along the lines of “ I mistakenly assumed that after I was initially issued that I didn’t need to report, therefore I incorrectly checked no, I now understand how to correctly report”

 

Don't explain other than to the AME. Don't volunteer anything to the FAA unless it explicitly asks. lbfjrmd is an experienced AME. He has the correct answer.

 

In the am at 08:05 cdt, call 405-954-4821 and have them fax it to you AME’s. Yeah you really DO need to DO better. 3 lies can bring you to the attention of the AMCD...what are your u doing concealing when you have been vetted. What’s the point? Bring the “vetting” letter...(unless you threw it out).... And, if you threw it out...I haven’t got words for that.....

Or, more drastic, tonight from a different email addy, go in and do a correctly done medxpress (new account) and use that one. AND call and get the letter.

Or postpone and get it right. No matter what you do you may “get a letter” from the agency for past acts. Now go forth and “omit no more”. With a part 121 training class you are going to have the public trust...do BETTER.

 

I think that it's ludicrous to have to continually repeat your history on the form. One-and-done should do it, except for ongoing concerns. But the FAA is here to keep you safe ...

 

I know that’s how it is and that’s my biggest problem with administrative law BS.

The applicant NEVER lied. He/she made a good faith omission. The FAA sees it as guilty until proven innocent, along with just about every other government ABC fiefdom. Such BS. F the FAA.

 

No ****. What a helpful reply.

 

Thank you to all of you who offered useful advice. Hopefully this thread can help someone in the future. I’ve always been fearful of the FAA and making a mistake for years so I was overly worried going into my medical exam today. I wrote up a letter to send to the faa admitting my mistake and brought it along. I explained to my AME what happened and he basically said it was a non issue. He claimed that it’s way more common than I’d thought. His advice was to just make sure I check the correct box from now on and I’ll likely never hear about it because it was reported initially. He said people go decades with making this mistake and only get a letter to fix it. I’m so relieved. Just make sure you fill out your application correctly and the same every year. Call your AME if you have questions.

 

Or you could just not get a DWI. That works, too, rather than blaming the government for what you did (not directed at the OP).

 

That’s BS.

Change it from I had a DUI to I had surgery and it’s the same situation. You not disclosing something previously disclosed due to either bad advice from AME or oversight on the part of the applicant.

What he reported is not relevant.

 

Except having surgery isn't something you decide to do some day even though you know it's against the law.

 

You are missing the point. The DUI has nothing to do with what I’m talking about. The fact it’s a DUI doesn’t make what I’m talking about ok.

 

Nice horse. Does it have its own ladder to does it need a stair truck?

 

One of the reasons my file is so thick - I save copies of the forms I give to my AME so I can compare year after year and check the same boxes as "PRNC". Last year I forgot to check the "surgery" box because I forgot about that appendectomy 30 yrs ago. I caught it when I reviewed before I hit "submit". Even though I had that box checked on every form since my first medical, I just skimmed right past it.

Basic Med should fix that for me next time.

 

And you are missing mine. Your "F the FAA" attitude is misdirected. This whole situation was caused by a decision made by the OP, not a decision or policy of the FAA.

 

No you are missing the point. What I’m talking about has absolutely nothing to do with what he’s reporting. I’m talking about how the situation the OP finds himself in can apply to anyone with anything to report.

 

Yes, and you're blaming the situation on the FAA and not the person who went afoul of the rules to begin with. I feel like I'm repeating myself here.

 

Basicmed, unless you really need the FAA medical.

 

Yep you're correct. The situation this particular person is in is due to their own choices and they should be ashamed of themselves for being the horrible person that they are. You have pointed that out very clearly. We all get it. Happy now?

This persons poor decisions do not however negate the actual point being made which you seem to want to ignore. There can exist people out there who have not made poor decisions and have no reason to be ashamed of themselves but due to circumstances entirely beyond their own control could find themselves in the position of having to report previously disclosed conditions and then further find themselves in a position similar to the OP in that they were given incorrect guidance by a professional and went years without reporting something they should have been reporting. Why is that so difficult to grasp?

 

That’s correct because the FAA is to blame. You are missing the point. Completely. I understand what you are saying and it is not germane

 

The FAA is to blame that the OP broke the law? Let me guess, you're one of those "personal responsibility" types.

 

Ah, the strawman. A time-honored internet tradition.

I didn't say the person should be ashamed, nor that they are a horrible person. We all make mistakes and deserve an opportunity at redemption. But don't blame others for complications caused by what you did. Take responsibility and accept the consequences.

 

@mryan75 Seriously man, you really are missing the point.

 

Yep. The FAA is responsible for our mistakes. I understand.

 

Ok, I’m gonna try again to explain. The point was that the FAA reporting process is onerous. For instance, I have some stenosis in my neck, I had a bout with numbness in my fingers. I reported it and all is good. Now, I have to KEEP reporting it even though I already did and was given a thumbs up. Now, if I fail to report it, even though the FAA has already said I’m good, all of the sudden i am not good and could be violated. Now, what poor decision did I make?

 

It is in my opinion, if it recurs, it isn’t PRNC therefore you would report again. It’s a technicality, to the letter of the reg, yes it’s a violation, but in the real world once you confess you don’t have to keep confessing unless something changes.

 

Not a strawman. Not even a little. You just insist on missing the point and reading things into this that aren't there.

Ok so you do realize the OP whom this actually happened to in no way shape or form has said anything that indicates he thinks the FAA is to blame for the situation he's in right? Please at at least acknowledge that you can at least see that. Others in this thread have made comments regarding their opinion of the FAA policy on this, but the OP has not.

 

Long live basicmed and AOPA

 

The FAA should just streamline this. Have pilots take the same medical that CDL folks do. Done.

 

No. That’s not what I said.

 

What is a “personal responsibility” type?

 

Nobody in this entire thread has excused the OP's DUI.

 

Allow me...


Hear ye, on this day and all days ever to come before or after, be it known the the OP’s DUI is excused, exculpated, exclaimed, excited, and excommunicated. Go forth, and carry word to the four corners of the wind.

 

New question: how many damn times to I have to click on IGNORE THEEAD before it actually freaking happens? Thanks.