Aircraft pilots are required to continuously meet very stringent medical requirements in accordance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) annex 1 – Personnel Licencing.
The process of medical assessments for establishing and issuing evidence that guarantees that a license holder meets the applicable medical requirements is called “medical certification”.
There are two classes of medical assessments for aircraft pilots.
A Class 1 medical assessment applies to applicants for, and holders of commercial pilot licences (CPL) and airline transport pilot licences (ATPL) for aeroplane, airship, helicopter and powered-lift.
A Class 2 medical assessment applies to applicants for, and holders of private pilot licences for aeroplane, airship, helicopter and powered-lift.
All medical assessments in each class are done by a designated aviation medical examiner (AME) with accredited training in aviation medicine and refresher training at regular intervals.
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Before designation by the Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs), medical examiners must demonstrate adequate competency in aviation medicine.
The competence of an AME is assessed by medical assessors who evaluate reports submitted by the AMEs to the CAAs.
In some CAAs, there is a formal evaluation of an AME once every three years by a designated medical assessor.
Medical assessors, because of their functions as consultants for the CAAs and as supervisors for the designated AMEs, will normally have advanced training in the speciality of aviation medicine and extensive experience in regulatory and clinical civil aviation medicine.
The applicant for a medical assessment provides the AME with a personally certified statement of medical facts concerning the applicant’s personal, familial and hereditary history.
The applicant is made aware of the necessity for giving a statement that is as complete and accurate as the applicant’s knowledge permits, and the penalties for any false statements.
An applicant for a medical assessment undergoes a medical examination based on the prescribed requirements for physical and mental wellbeing, visual and colour perception and hearing.
An applicant for any class of medical assessment shall be required to be free from any abnormality – congenital or acquired – or any active, latent, acute or chronic disability such as would entail a degree of functional incapacity which is likely to interfere with the safe performance of duties during the operation of an aircraft.
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The applicant must have a numerical visual acuity based on the applicable medical standards. For example, a 20/20 visual acuity is the ability to see an object clearly from 20 feet away. Subject to the prescribed standards, corrective lenses
