by lpaaruule » Sat Jan 21, 2017 5:26 pm
Hi Mark,
I don't remember anything being said about extending the 3rd Class Medical interval for pilot +40. However they said that BasicMed actually puts more burden on healthy pilots less than 40, and recommended they just get a 3rd Class Medical. They didn't seem to thing that the 3rd Class Medical was going away.
Both AMEs said that if you have any doubts about your ability to pass the physical, you should ask for a consultation first, and they would be able to tell you with 99% confidence whether or not you'll pass. I assume this is because the FAA actually reviews their report, and can disagree with their results.
They also said it will be interesting to see the reaction in the medical community to BasicMed, as most doctors don't know anything about it.
Dr. Gordon stated that if you are planning on going the BasicMed route, don't kill yourself and mess it up for everyone else by have the law repealed. Dr. Pinnell disagreed that that would happen and gave the Michigan helmet law as an example. He said that since the helmet law was repealed in Michigan, deaths due to head injury have quadrupled, and the legislature doesn't seem to have any intention on reevaluating the decision.
I found it interesting when Dr. Pinnell said that only 3% of GA deaths are DIRECTLY related to medical issues. However, he also said that there is no way of knowing how many deaths had a medical issue that indirectly contributed to them. He said that the NTSB doesn't have the means to immediately examine the deceased flight crew of every crash, as the military does. I took it that he wasn't too confident about the stats.
Both AMEs said that they perform about 2500 flight physicals a year, for approx $100 each. I'm not sure if they stated this just to make the point that they are two of the top AME's in the country, or if they were subtly indicating "full disclosure" we may lose money because of this law. I thought they both tried to give a balance presentation.
I didn't take notes, so that's all I remember, so the best of my recollection.