November 15, 1999
6:14 a.m. Phone message is, All agents are busy.
6:27 a.m. Dusty answers. Give her my SS number and case number.
Holding
6:30 a.m. dusty says that my papers are in 'Review' I request to talk to someone
in review. She puts me on hold.
6:39 a.m. She takes my phone number and says that she will send it to a 'Lead
Examiner. Says I should expect a phone call today. (Stayed home all day...No call.)

November 16, 1999
6:10 a.m. All agents are busy. Please Hold
6:42 a.m. Donna answers and takes my SS number. I ask to talk to someone, anyone who can tell me the status of my medical.
Holding
Donna says that my papers have been sent to File Maintenance. This is a new place that I have never heard of before. I ask to talk to someone in File Maintenance. Donna says that she can't do that. She asks me to wait a minute.
6:51 a.m. Holding
7:06 a.m. Fushia comes on line and tells me that my papers have been 'cleared.' I ask her as to the meaning of 'cleared'.
She say that this means I will get a certificate. I ask, "When? She doesn't know but thinks it will be as soon as
someone types it up. No time or date projection possible. I ask that it be faxed to me. She finds fax number in my papers and said that she would try to fax it to me by 12:00 OKC time. She couldn't understand why I didn't believe her.
7:09 a.m. Hung up.

November 16, 1999
1:23 p.m.
All,
The fax came. And only an hour and a half later than forcast. I'm legal again.
Gene Whitt

One of several congratulatory emails...
Way to stay after 'em. This whole ordeal was so pathetic, it was almost laughable. A SitCom writer couldn't script a story with such incompetence, ineptitude, and lack of concern or caring.

Case 17
I'm sorry to hear about your medical certificate woes. Especially since I am just 3 or 4 weeks into the process.
My medical was deferred for high BP, and the presence of Horner's Syndrome, with no cause found. A little over a year ago I was diagnosed with Horner's, which is characterized by a constricted pupil in one eye, lack of sweating on the same side of face, and a slight droop to the eyelid. It can be caused by a number of things, primarily tumors or problems with the carotid artery. After xrays, MRI's, etc. last year, no cause was found.

Fast forward to late September 99. 9.8 hours of dual accumulated, CFI wants to get me soloed. Off to the AME. AME finds the high BP (news to me), and of course raises the red flag on the Horner's. During the exam he does the usual palpating of lymph nodes, etc. He tells me he feels a lump in my neck and sends me back to my regular doctor with a note detailing my high BP and the lump. He also sends my medical to OKC and tells me to start collecting my medical records for the FAA.

My regular doc puts me on meds for the BP and sends me to a specialist to check my neck. The specialists biopses the lump and sends me off for a CAT scan. Biopsy is unremarkable, CT shows a tumor in my neck. It appears to be a benign neuroma that is probably the cause for my Horner's. Surgery is scheduled for Nov 10.

I don't know how long it may take to get my medical now. I've prepared myself for the full 3 month ride. But, since I didn't know about the tumor or surgery when I applied for my medical, the FAA doesn't yet know about it, so that could put another month or so into the process. The good news is the AME caught my high BP, and noticed the lump before I did. So, in that regard it was worth the $94 for the exam. The bad news is now I can join you and others in FAA medical hell.
Craig

Case 16 
While they always ask for the releases again, isn't it the case you can just have the doctors send the reports again in advance of waiting for the FAA to get around to requesting them directly.

At least you know where the FEDEX destination is there. When Margy got her requests there was nary a phone number nor an address that would work with anything but the U.S. Postal Service enclosed with the request for documenation.
Ron

Case 15 

Gene, You have my sympathy. They did exactly the same thing to me just a couple of months back. On the plus side, they did finally manage to reunite the paperwork on their end and I didn't have to repeat all the work on my end.

The APOA web site states that medical latency is going up again and the current wait seems to be about four months.
Rick

Case 14
Really a bummer about your woes. on the theory that misery loves company, I'll tell my story. Since 1993, when i was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure), I have had to include a resting ekg, and serum potassium blood test result in my applications for medicals (thanks, AOPA, who told me this up front). now, (knock on wood), the FAA has never lost these attachments.

But, one year I stupidly neglected to sign the release that allows them to check your
driving record -- you know, the one on the front of the application near the bottom.
Well, the AME didn't catch it either, and sent in the app without my signature. I got one of the letters from the FAA with a photocopy of that page saying that if I didn't
sign & return it to them within 30 days, my medical would be denied.

Well, I signed it, and sent it _certified_ mail, return receipt guaranteed. I got the return thingy, and assumed all was well. By now you have guessed it -- 60 days later got another letter saying that since I failed to send in the paper with my signature, they were denying my medical.

Fortunately for me, I was able to call them and fax a copy of the page with my signature on it. but it just goes to show how incompetent their clerical staff is.
John

Case 13
Hello,
How long are others in this group having to wait for their 3rd class medical from the FAA? I've been waiting 5 weeks now...
Tim

Case 12
Mine took six. I have a slightly abnormal EKG. The FAA holds up medicals for almost ANYTHING abnormal. In my case there was no associated risk, but it still took six weeks. Your AME should tell you why there is any delay though.
erf

Why did you get deferred? If there was nothing wrong with your exam, you would have walked out of the AME's office with the paperwork. Generally, the FAA manages to lose all paperwork for two weeks, and it takes two weeks to contact you to ask for more information. So in general, it takes a month from the initial exam to get a letter asking for reports from your other doctors along with release forms, then after you send those, it takes two more weeks for them to approve it (if they are going to approve it directly).
R

Case 11
It took 5 months for me to get a response from them... and unfortunately it was not a favorable response. It was so bad, that in a phone call to them about a month ago, I was told it would take one to two ***weeks*** just to find out the status of my file!

Case 10 
After 7 mos of student flying I come home to a message on the machine from my medical examiner. It says the FAA has been trying to contact me about a box checked on my medical application that needs more explaining. It goes on to tell me that if no reply is received with in 30 days they have no choice but to decline my application. OH...did I say it was dated July 8th, 1999? Damn it!

Not only am I pissed because I get mail from the FAA ( the letter states they can not contact me due to an incorrect address) but now I have spent several dollars on hold only to be told that the FAA computers are down and they will call me back. What the hell am I to do now?
Thanks, Jim "mad as hell"

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