conditions that would otherwise be disqual- ifying.) “Te FAA legal office gets involved if they can establish that there was either an inaccuracy or an intentional falsification of information provided by the pilot on the medical application form.” Reigel agrees. “Te FAA’s initial priority is


determining medical certification,” he says. Tere seems good reason to investigate.


One veteran we spoke with says he intentionally avoids updating his 8500-8 out of fear of creating problems with the FAA. Another estimated that, while a great number of veteran disability claims resulted from US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, “75% to 80% of the claims out there are inflated at best and fraudulent at worst.” Adds Yodice, “Te FAA is disturbingly


finding that there are many veterans who have not disclosed the medical conditions for which they’re receiving compensation. Some of those conditions and their treatment (or avoidance of it) are pretty concerning from an aviation safety perspective.”


Where There’s Smoke … Past investigations into pilot records have uncovered behavior that led to revocation of medical certificates or criminal prosecution. In 2003, Yodice says, the inspector generals (IGs) for Transportation and the Social Security Administration launched Operation Safe Pilot, a joint investigation of pilots claiming Social Security disability benefits but not including that information on their medical certificate applications. Joined by the office of the US Attorney for Northern California and the FAA’s Western-Pacific Region Office of Aerospace Medicine, the 18-month probe looked at 40,000 pilots living in northern California. (Yodice was heavily involved in that operation.) Te probe found 3,220 pilots holding current


medical certificates and collecting disability benefits, including 48 receiving full-disability payments for conditions that should have disqualified them from holding those certifi- cates. More than 40 pilots were prosecuted. A similar investigation followed on the East Coast. Spearheaded by the VA IG’s office, the scrutiny around VA benefits has been going


38 ROTOR SEPTEMBER 2023


on for several years. In August 2018, for example, a San Francisco federal grand jury indicted four airline pilots for making false statements by denying medical conditions for which they received such benefits. One was convicted and two pleaded guilty. Te status of the fourth case couldn’t be determined. Ison opened his aviation law practice with


his brothers (one also a lawyer, the other a chiropractor) in 2016. From the start, they’ve been dealing with VA disability issues relative to the FAA. “Tis isn’t something new to us,” Ison says. “Te VA will show up at somebody’s doorstep and start asking about discrepancies between their VA disability benefits and their medical applications. Ten it turns into a medical question at the FAA.” For their clients, Ison says, he and his


brothers would work with the FAA to sort out the issue before it became a problem. “It’s something that was fairly common,” he adds, “but wasn’t at a level of catastrophe, which is where it went.” Te scrutiny of medical certificates and


disability benefits moved from “common” toward “catastrophe,” Ison says, in mid-2022. Airmen began receiving Letters of Correction or Letters of Investigation from the FAA that referred to an “AAM special project.” AAM is the FAA’s designator for its Office of Aerospace Medicine. “ ‘Special project’ indicated to me that there


was a task force that was maybe going to make this a larger-scale issue,” Ison says. “Te next thing you know, it was on a much larger scale than we had ever seen.” Tat made the Isons concerned “that pursuit


of airmen receiving VA disability benefits will go beyond a few isolated airmen.” Indeed, lawyers are skeptical of the FAA’s


estimate that the probe will affect only around 4,800 pilots. “Tey do not seem to equate to what we’re seeing in our practice,” Yodice says. “We, alone, have seen at least a dozen revo- cation actions and a few dozen who have been able to simply correct their applications. “It’s unclear, and the FAA isn’t telling us,


how it’s making the decision in each case to allow the pilot to make the necessary correction and provide medical information or proceed with enforcement action,” Yodice continues.


A practical policy for ensuring that a pilot


safely holds a medical certificate (and for protecting the system’s integrity) “and having the FAA share their policy for handling these cases would make for a more just adminis- tration in getting these matters cleared up quickly,” Yodice adds. Another change came earlier this year when


airmen began to receive what Ison calls “letters of reconciliation.” Holders of first-class med- icals (air transport and airline pilots) had until Jul. 31, 2023, or the expiration of their current certificate to submit a new application and visit their aviation medical examiner (AME) for a new physical exam. Holders of second-class medicals (commercial pilots) must take those steps by Jan. 3, 2024, or the expiration of their current certificate. Te same applies to third- class medical holders. Tese letters warn airmen that their new


applications need to report all VA disability benefits. Ison says failure to do so could lead to enforcement action. “Now, rather than a knee-jerk reaction to prosecution and revo- cation, they’re giving airmen an opportunity to amend their applications,” Reigel says. But the AME may be unable to issue a new


certificate to an airman under investigation. Reigel and Ison say the application may go to the FAA’s Aerospace Medical Certification Division in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for review.


Privacy Concerns Unfounded Many pilots are troubled by an apparent invasion of privacy in these cases, believing that federal law—specifically, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)—limits use of their medical infor- mation without their authorization. Privacy was a significant issue in Operation


Safe Pilot. In that initiative’s wake, the FAA in 2008 changed Form 8500-8 to provide notice that it will compare data with that of other agencies regarding disability benefits paid to the applicant. Another 2008 change was the addition of Question 18y. Likewise, VA regulations (38 CFR 1.506)


state that the department shall furnish “all records or documents required for official purposes by any” US department or agency.


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