Type 1 diabetes and commercial flying
Posted by notherwayout@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 59 comments
I’m a 25 year old with type 1 diabetes, diagnosed at the age of 7. Since childhood, I’ve never had any dream other than flying for an airline, but flying commercially with type 1 diabetes seems almost impossible. I know it's forbidden in my country. However, I recently saw some news online saying that the USA allows people with type 1 diabetes to fly commercially, though the numbers are very small, I'm not from USA. Is it actually possible? Even if there’s only a 1% chance, I would go all in to try it. Any continent any country, doesn't matter. I just can’t even imagine myself doing another job. If anyone has an idea please share it with me.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
You’re not going to be a pilot in the US if you don’t have work authorization.
notherwayout@reddit (OP)
Is it possible to go into a flight school there any seek for pilot jobs after finishing it?
RaiseTheDed@reddit
You can, but you're not going to find any employers who will sponsor a work visa. I've met many people who did this, and they had to either go back home, or marry an American.
The one who married an American worked at the same flight school as me. The flight school he worked at wouldn't even sponsor him.
notherwayout@reddit (OP)
The point I don't understand is, does American flight schools allow T1's to sign up? In my country you cant even apply for a flight school if you have diabetes.
ltcterry@reddit
Your country is not the US. The US is not your country. Different rules.
There is a difference between allowing people to fly themselves and to fly paying passengers. T1 diabetics are getting cleared to fly more and more often.
Flight school is not going to increase your incredibly small chance of getting a job. You have no right to work in the US. US pilots have no right to work in your anonymous country. Why would you expect it to be different?
I'm not anti-immigrant at all. I have lived much of my life in Germany. I speak German. Have EASA certificates. But none of that is going to let me get a job there.
You are welcome to train in the US. Happy to see you spending your money. You can even find places that will let you declare ATP as your training goal and you can instruct to 1,500 hours because that's a requirement for ATP. But you're a "student worker" w/o the actual right to work otherwise.
You can probably get an FAA medical for flight training in the US. But that will do nothing for you in your country.
Good luck!
RaiseTheDed@reddit
You need to apply for an FAA medical certificate. Which, after testing and certain requirements, yes, type 1 diabetes can be flown with.
I don't think flight schools are allowed to deny service based on medical conditions, but I could be wrong.
frkbo@reddit
Even then, you only need a medical to solo. I’m T1, and I took some dual lessons in a 172. Then I decided I didn’t want to deal with the special issuance process and switched to flying LSAs.
RaiseTheDed@reddit
Yeah, I know several airline pilots who have T1. The process is pretty brutal, and seems like if your T1 gets worse you essentially lose your medical.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
No
Refer to my original comment
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
Aren’t there student VISAS for US flight schools?
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Doesn’t matter when someone doesn’t have work authorization
How hard is that to comprehend
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
Someone can literally get a work permit after flight training if they get hired by a company. How hard is that to comprehend? Are you dense?
Baystate411@reddit
You seem to know alot about the professional side of this. Tell us more
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
I know quite a bit about immigration considering that my parents came to this country through work sponsorship. But you totally know more in that regard I’m sure.
Baystate411@reddit
You're dense
Yesthisisme50@reddit
No, they don’t.
Airlines don’t sponsor people.
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
So nobody whatsoever from a foreign country has ever moved to the U.S. and become an airline pilot here? You’re kidding, right?
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Not without work authorization.
Very very slim chance OP will get that.
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
There are people who get work authorization though. Slim chance doesn’t mean that someone should give up.
Weasel474@reddit
Possible, yes, but extremely unlikely. There’s thousands of highly qualified pilots that don’t require expensive sponsorships to work in the US, and if they’re a permanent resident who was born and raised here, they’re less likely to return to their home country down the road. Why would you intentionally pick the expensive candidate with less experience? If hiring somehow (miraculously) returns to immediate post-Covid levels, then there’s a higher chance, but it’s slim to none with how things are now. I can’t, in good conscience, recommend someone spending six figures and years of their life on something very unlikely to happen.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Watch out, they might call you disrespectful for disagreeing with them
RaiseTheDed@reddit
I know many people who came here on student visas to fly. Most have either gone back home, or married an American. No flight school or airline sponsors visas. They don't need to, there are plenty of Americans that they can hire. The one who married an American, the flight school we both worked at wouldn't sponsor him. Him, already employed, and the employer wouldn't sponsor.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Wow look at that, finally someone else who actually has experience and knows what they’re talking about unlike someone with just a PPL
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
Actually, my parents are immigrants and came here because an employer sponsored them, so I’d say I know a lot more about how people can immigrate here than you, but your arrogance is showing because I’m “just a PPL,” and you’re an “ATP Bid Avoid List.”
Yesthisisme50@reddit
The aviation industry is different than any other industry and I’m willing to bet your parents aren’t airline pilots.
Yes, American companies do sponsor foreign employees but not in the airline industry. I have foreign family too, Greg. Can you ~~milk~~ sponsor me?
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
No, they aren’t airline pilots, in fact, they actually work in an industry where getting hired is far more difficult and far more competitive than becoming an airline pilot. But go off I guess, because you clearly know more.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
I do know more, about the aviation industry. I don’t really care what your parents do
If you want to brag about parents then my dad is Master Chief
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
Nobody is bragging about parents. I’m just making a point that I know what I’m talking about in terms of immigration. You’re weird as hell 🤡🤡🤡.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
When you gotta insult someone that just shows you lost the argument and don’t have anything intelligent to say.
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
I mean, you’ve been pretty condescending the entire time, so what do you expect? 🤷♂️
Yesthisisme50@reddit
I’m realistic, not condescending
I actually know what I’m talking about
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
If this isn’t condescending, I don’t know what is.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Next time I’ll just tag you instead of leaving it a little vague
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
Nothing’s vague about that. You are a very disrespectful, and arrogant person.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Thank you for your kind words. I’m respectful to people who deserve it
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
Do you treat your FOs like this too?
RaiseTheDed@reddit
What he's saying is airlines and aviation companies don't typically sponsor. It's very rare. E3 visa for Australians was a big one, but other sponsorships is almost unheard of on aviation. The E3 sponsoring has pretty much stopped since the hiring slowdown.
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
I understand that it’s not common, but I don’t think that’s a reason for why someone shouldn’t try at all to move to the US and become a pilot. It’s still possible.
RaiseTheDed@reddit
It's possible. But it's probably easier to marry an American to immigrate....
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
I know it’s not easy by any means
MontgomeryEagle@reddit
1) Australians have a preferential visa category and Skywest has aggressively sponsored those. They're an exception, not a rule.
2) A foreign pilot can marry a US person and become a US person.
3) A rather experienced foreign pilot can apply under the more recent visa program, but needs to navigate that carefully, but a brand new pilot isn't going to qualify.
Thats it though.
cjonesaf@reddit
Lighten up Francis. It all depends on the demand signal. We have a lot of Australian pilots, for example, working for US carriers. I’ve personally flown with German and Danish guys too.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
That’s because Australians have a special clause to be able to get work authorization.
chasepsu@reddit
Yes, there are student visas available for university flight school programs, but that just helps you for the flight training. Getting a job (even as a CFI) in the U.S. will require a specific work authorization via, which a student visa will not cover.
Work visas in the U.S. are hard to come by and costs are covered by the employer, making it more expensive to hire a foreign citizen than a U.S. citizen. In certain industries this is worth it either because the employer can't find enough qualified U.S. citizens to do the job, but that isn't the case in aviation.
My understanding is that the airlines don't usually sponsor work visas because there's no real lack of qualified pilots that are U.S. citizens, so why bother with the expense and hassle.
BuzzTheTower12@reddit
Yes, it’s more expensive, but considering how much getting hired in this industry depends on who you know, if you meet the right people who like you, they can help you get a job and a work permit.
dakotadog42@reddit
An AME just told me there are currently 76 active Commercial 121 pilots with Type 1
trish54625@reddit
When my daughter got her medical approved 18 months ago to fly at the airline (she was diagnosed 2 years ago) we were told only 15 at that time - so more are getting approved :)
notherwayout@reddit (OP)
Did she got diagnosed at flight school or got everything after the diagnosis? I don’t know how things work in US in terms of age.
trish54625@reddit
She got diagnosed after graduating. Not sure how it works with non citizens. I know UND offers a program with other countries.
MTBandGravel@reddit
I think that’s really only because the path has only been an option for a short time. It’ll become more common as time goes on.
notherwayout@reddit (OP)
USA?
Wedmonds@reddit
UK, Austria, and Ireland apparently all have rules that allow you to fly commercially. Just an additional thought.
trish54625@reddit
My daughter is a pilot at an airline. It takes good control, you have to send the FAA all of your reports every 6 months. It would be expensive for someone outside the country because you do have to visit drs often to stay in compliance.
PullDoNotRotate@reddit
If you don't have the right to work in the United States then you cannot fly a U.S.-registered plane for a U.S. air carrier. The Air Line Pilots Association also considers the use of the H-1B visa by U.S. airlines an abuse of that particular visa as it applies to airline pilots, though who knows what the next Administration is going to do with that.
That said, Type I Diabetes does not itself preclude an airman from receiving a first class medical from the FAA. (It's actually true for both Type I and Type II) - I would make sure if you do want to go down the path that you get a good Aviation Medical Examiner who knows the process: https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/dec_cons/disease_prot/itdm
MontgomeryEagle@reddit
Type 1 diabetics who manage insulin with a pump can now obtain a SI 1st class medical. It's a relatively new regulation change.
cjonesaf@reddit
It’s possible with a special issuance, which is a long and expensive process. I’d look into that along with work authorization before you plan too much
SparkySpecter@reddit
Yes, it’s possible with the correct medical history.
Getting authorization to work in the US will likely be the bigger hurdle.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I’m a 25 year old with type 1 diabetes, diagnosed at the age of 7. Since childhood, I’ve never had any dream other than flying for an airline, but flying commercially with type 1 diabetes seems almost impossible. I know it's forbidden in my country. However, I recently saw some news online saying that the USA allows people with type 1 diabetes to fly commercially, though the numbers are very small, I'm not from USA. Is it actually possible? Even if there’s only a 1% chance, I would go all in to try it. Any continent any country, doesn't matter. I just can’t even imagine myself doing another job. If anyone has an idea please share it with me.
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Hi, I'm a bot and it looks like you're asking a question about medical issues: diabetes.
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