Old medical info

Posted by Imaginary-Doctor-753@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 20 comments

In 2003 I was about 11 hours into my PPL and went for my medical. I remember filling out the form in the office, the AME looked at it and said my ADD meds were not allowed (early 2000s where every kid who had trouble focusing got ADD meds). The exam never went any further than that. I don’t recall ever getting anything in the mail from the FAA nor does it show anything on this FAA lookup site in the “Medical” category: [https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx](https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx) I haven’t taken ADD meds in 20+ years and am now interested in a Sport License. Is it possible that my AME never submitted an application for me? I‘m happy to submit a records request to the FAA if that’s the best next step.

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20 Comments

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ImaginaryLeopard23@reddit

If you had a paper student pilot certificate in 2003 that also had your medical on it, make sure to get a new plastic student certificate from the FAA with a separate medical from your Dr - this caused my wife some problems last year when she got her PPL with her student cert being so ancient (she started flying in college) and bonded with her medical. No one had seen one like that in years but some of the old CFI’s knew what to do.

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old_flying_fart@reddit

Reasonably likely. It was paper forms then, not MedExpress. A friendly AME would simply throw the application away and not submit the failure.

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Imaginary-Doctor-753@reddit (OP)

Thanks. I hope that’s what he did.

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ltcterry@reddit

Did you fill out a paper form in the office or do it online? Even if it's paper and never left the AME's office, there is a question on MedXpress asking if you've applied before. I discourage lying on a federal form that you are signing. That has backfired on people before. If you don't mind making the effort/expense the odds are quite good that you will eventually get a medical. At that point you could go Sport or use BasicMed.

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Imaginary-Doctor-753@reddit (OP)

Thanks. It was paper form in the office. I’ve never logged into MedXpress but good to know about the question. I’m not interested in lying so I appreciate the advice and perspective in the thread.

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ltcterry@reddit

Have a consultation with an AME. I suspect your situation is ultimately not too miserable.

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Ok_Truck_5092@reddit

I’d do the records request to see what they have on you before opening a can of worms from over 20 years ago.

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Bob-Bill@reddit

How do you do a records request?

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LeagueResponsible985@reddit

It's called a FOIA or Freedom of Information Act Request. The OP (or anyone else) can follow the link below and make a FOIA request for their medical records from the FAA. [https://www.faa.gov/foia/airmen\_medical\_records](https://www.faa.gov/foia/airmen_medical_records) A word of warning. Don't expect an instant reply. The FOIA office of any agency is typically underfunded. I don't think the FAA would be any different.

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flyingron@reddit

Technically, it's a Privacy Act requrest not a FOIA but the FAA doesn't believe in following the privacy act. If it was FOIA, I could request anybody's medical records.

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mypersonalinfoxn@reddit

Fill out this form. https://www.faa.gov/forms/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentID/181396

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Ok_Truck_5092@reddit

I don’t remember off the top of my head but I googled it and found instructions on the FAA website.

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Imaginary-Doctor-753@reddit (OP)

Thanks. I think that’s a good step. I remember feeling deviated after the medical and certainly don’t want to start down the pilot path if it’s all going to come up again.

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flyingron@reddit

2003 was pre-medexpress so there are two possibilities. 1. The AME tossed your application. He really shouldn't have done this, but I've seen some do that. 2. He denied you outright. While it was sent to the FAA, since you didn't hold a medical at the time, nor were you deferred for further decision, you wouldn't get anything else from them. Technically, if you applied and it wasn't issued, you are barred from using the drivers-license-as-medical provision on sport pilot is off the table until you get one issued by the FAA. The good news is that 20 years off and a successful life, you are eligible for the fast track (provided nothing else is wrong) and should be issuable in the office. You should consult a good (probably HIMS) AME as to your chances. The other thing you can do is write the FAA (https://www.faa.gov/pilots/medical\_certification/requesting\_medical\_records) to see if you really did have an applciation on file. The bad news, is that they are painfully slow (took me six months to get my records).

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Imaginary-Doctor-753@reddit (OP)

Thanks. I’m going to request records and go from there.

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Remote_Presentation6@reddit

This is one that’s worth making sure you do it right. I would get a legal consultation independently or through aopa and take the 6 months for a record request if needed to make sure you don’t make any untrue statements on the application…

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Imaginary-Doctor-753@reddit (OP)

That’s fair. Thanks! Just submitted the records request.

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usd2bfast@reddit

Here’s the 8065-2 https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Form/8065-2.pdf The last one we sent in took 7 weeks to get the file from OKC Pre-MedXpress all of the paper application forms had serial numbers so it was hard to “lose” one, but not impossible. If you had been officially denied you would have got a registered denial letter, plus a copy by regular mail, from AMCD As stated, you would be a candidate for Fast Track if it’s been more than 4 years, so an FAA Medical should be a slam dunk (barring other medical issues)

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Bob-Bill@reddit

How do you do a records request?

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity: --- In 2003 I was about 11 hours into my PPL and went for my medical. I remember filling out the form in the office, the AME looked at it and said my ADD meds were not allowed (early 2000s where every kid who had trouble focusing got ADD meds). The exam never went any further than that. I don’t recall ever getting anything in the mail from the FAA nor does it show anything on this FAA lookup site in the “Medical” category: [https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx](https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx) I haven’t taken ADD meds in 20+ years and am now interested in a Sport License. Is it possible that my AME never submitted an application for me? I‘m happy to submit a records request to the FAA if that’s the best next step. --- Please downvote this comment until it collapses. Questions about this comment? [Please see this wiki post before contacting the mods](https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/wiki/index/rflyingtower/). --- I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please [contact the mods of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/flying).