Several years ago I pursued a special issuance for my medical and received same. It was a long and tedious process but I was persistent and won. I was able to fly for several years and then out of nowhere I suffered a stroke that rendered me blind. It’s a good thing I wasn’t in the air or it would have been “curtains for me.”
My sight returned in several weeks but it scared the hell out of me. I don’t have any statistics on how often a meltdown in older pilots happens, but it is a factor. Obviously the medical checkup didn’t catch my pending problem, but it happened just the same.
What we have here is “caught between a rock and a hard place.” If the easing of medical rules happens, will the rank and file pilots be up front and not fly if everything isn’t 100%? Or will the old “shake it off” mindset prevail?
I see both sides of the problem, but fail to have any answers. After 50 years of being a pilot and active in all facets of aviation, I find this community is head and shoulders above the average guy on the street, but in the political climate of today it won’t take much negative performance to close private aviation.
ROGER STEPHENS
Eugene, Ore.