I’ve read some of the older posts here on navigating the AME/HIMS process while on antidepressants. I am curious if anyone has some recent experience on turnaround time from starting to receiving (hopefully) your class 1 as well as any tips or resources I can use to get as positive an outcome as possible. It seems like some of the delay in the past was due to COVID restrictions and backlogs so I’m trying to get a feel for what to expect for my journey as I try to plan what the next several months look like for me.
I have gathered the courage to leave my toxic employer and pursue a much more fulfilling career as an airline pilot. Unfortunately, I stayed at my current employer long enough for it to impact my mental health in the last year and ended up taking an SSRI and going on a medical leave. The break from work has allowed me greater clarity and strength to move on and take this leap into my dream in aviation.
I am still on my medication and not sure if I should try to go through the process either continuing medication for 6 months or discontinuing for 60-90 days. I’m not sure if one is more favorable than the other. I feel that my being on medication isn’t really necessary for me since it seems to have been caused by my toxic work environment as opposed to major brain chemistry issues. Also, if there will be a delay from the FAA either in OKC or D.C., I want to try to align as best I can where I can start training and by the time I get my class 1 I can do my solo flight. I feel a time crunch because I am in my mid 30’s and want to have a relatively long career in the airlines.
Has anyone used Left Seat or the AOPA pilot protection services and can speak to your experience with either of them?
I have a consult with an AME next week and not sure if I should trust that interaction or go with AOPA or Left Seat to facilitate as well.
There’s no way to tell because every single case is different. Only thing I can tell for certain, after taking 13 months to get my 1st class medical, having started in July of 2023 and finally getting it a month ago, is covid or no covid, Oklahoma is backed up and anything going thru them will take an eternity. Could be 3 months, could be a year and a half, its really a coin flip. But in my experience in 2017 and again in 2023-24, it will take about 2 months before you receive first round of correspondence from OKC following the deferral.
I didn’t use any aviation lawyer services, can’t help you with that. I consulted with my AME, signed some HIPAA release papers for him to access my previous file from 2017, then went from there.
I wouldn’t spend a penny on flight training until you have your medical in hand (or at least it shows approved on medxpress). There’s no way to know how long it will take, there’s no way to tell where you are in line (don’t bother calling OKC to find out, they don’t know any more than what you can see on medxpress), so there’s no way to time your medical arrival in time to solo.
A couple of things. First, I know you’re new but there is no Class 1 medical, it’s a First Class and I’m sorry, when people say Class 1 it makes my head hurt.
Next, as Roman pointed out, NO ONE else’s experience is the same as yours, every case is different but that’s why it’s important to find a good HIMS AME. You say you’re not sure you should “trust” yours? If you don’t, find another because once he’s starts you too are in it together (while you can switch during the process, it’s not a good look).
Finally Id be remiss if I didn’t point out commercial pilot always makes the top 5 when it comes to stressful careers. Further I’ve flown with more than my share of “toxic” Captains over the years (some might say I am one?). With that in mind you really might want to give this some serious thought.
I appreciate the correction on the first class medical certificate nomenclature! You make very valid points and I will be sure to carefully consider them.
Hopefully I’m not dancing around your reasoning, but I feel I can deal with individual toxicity. It is when the entire company, senior leadership team, values, and overall direction are toxic and just plain idiotic, that’s what got to me. I think some of it was probably my lack of coping skills and maturity which I have gone through a lot of work over the years and have come out of it much stronger.
As for the stress, I hope I am not putting too much faith in the procedures and safety precautions that exist within the aviation profession to lean on to get through any particularly stressful situation (if it has to do with operating an airplane or anything else within the training). I’m thinking being as prepared as you can for the worst and honing my skills to be the best that I can should help combat that element?
I hope to also reduce the stigma against those who have gone through mental health struggles. Having this doesn’t mean a person is weak, if anything it offers a journey that leads to a more stable, confident, and risk tolerant individual. As long as the growth was via positive means of course.
I am glad you brought up these points because I would love to know whether I am being naïve in any of my assumptions. I know they are assumptions because I have yet to walk this path and certainly want to allow those who have the experience to guide and discuss!
The big flying gorilla in the room is you don’t mention any flight experience (and I don’t mean sitting in the back going on vacation)? The fact is many people believe they want to fly, but until you’re sitting upfront at the controls of a small training aircraft you really have no idea what its like. You may love it but you also might not. Frankly I don’t understand how anyone seriously considers a career in aviation until they’ve done some flying.
If in fact you’ve never been, before you start jumping through the many hoops you’re approaching I’d go up as this conversation could be moot.
Totally understandable! I did go up on an introductory flight (have one more with a different school soon) and it felt so right. The instructor allowed me to perform some basic maneuverers in a 172 once in the air and it was so very alluring and all I wanted to do was to learn more and practice.
Yes, the rest of my experience with flying was as a passenger but I’ve been in the air since before I was born! My parents are flight attendants and I’ve followed them on trips throughout the many years and it literally never gets old even through getting bumped or having to change plans last minute. I know that this experience pales in comparison to having to be focused and sharp in charge of a very large hunk of steel etc. responsible for possibly hundreds of people’s lives.
I was curious as to what you feel are the most stressful elements of being a pilot and how you overcome these stresses. The fact that there are so few major aviation disasters makes me want to believe that it isn’t a death sentence per se. Unless pilots are just really good at hiding things and skating by the seat of their pants, many of the pilots I have talked to don’t seem to be on the verge of a breakdown either.
From your profile, it looks like you’ve been successfully flying for 20+ years. What are your practices that allow you to still have energy to help aspiring pilots here? I apologize if you’ve written this elsewhere in the forums I tried scanning through your posts but you are a powerhouse here! I’m loving the ability to pick your brain and really get into the meat of things.
I have tremendous respect for FAs. There’s literally no way I could do that job and not end up on IG daily. That said riding in back doesn’t necessarily “pale by comparison”, it’s just really different.
Honestly I’m the wrong person to ask about cockpit stress. I don’t like to sound like I’m brave or bold (I’m neither), it’s simply the cockpit is my happy place. Not to get over philosophical but life is hard, the cockpit is easy by comparison (at least to me). With that in mind we’re all different. We’d like to all believe when our “Sully” moment comes our training will kick in and we’ll perform as well as he did, but that just ain’t so. Everything is fine until it isn’t and when it isn’t that’s when that good old fight or flight (or freeze) kicks in and frankly until you’re actually in it, you really don’t know. People get stressed any training. Knowing there’s a very real possibility they could washout and all their effort was for naught. Weather freaks people out, flying to new destination freaks people out. Cabin emergencies, furlough, incidents, flying with cranky old Capt’s like me, etc etc etc. The list is long. Whatever it is like I said we top the charts every year.
I’m not trying to dissuade you but again if you have trouble with stress there’s plenty to be found sitting upfront.
As for helping others it’s simply payback. I love my job and if it wasn’t for the help I received (particularly from ATP) I would be where I am. I’m simply trying to pay some of it back.
I really appreciate your wisdom and words of advice, Adam! You’ve certainly shown me a different perspective and I have lots more to chew on as I navigate this life changing decision. I am so thankful for your blunt honesty about the less glamorous sides of aviation. I definitely was a little too caught up in the clouds so to speak.
You reminding me that the possibly of washing out before I can reach my end goals is very real and I’ll defintely be giving it much thought to make sure I don’t get myself into debt for nothing.
I do still have hope that I’ll find solace in the cockpit as you have but as you say, we’ll see!
My most stressful part of the job is hoping that hotel “market” frozen burrito that I had at midnight doesn’t come a-knocking midway through a flight…
In all seriousness, our career has a lot of stressors, but as we grow professionally we learn how to compartmentalize them and focus on the task at hand. Just like Adam said, the flight deck is my happy place and I look at in-flight “stressors” as problems we solve as a crew and the rest of the non-flight related stuff stays behind that cockpit door. Family members still get sick, have accidents, AC and garage doors break while you’re working, and when that gets in the way of the job we call in sick and lean on union resources to help us manage.
While I really like the job, it does have some stressors. I ended up in a situation a few weeks ago where our destination airport closed due to weather, our alternate was not good, the next obvious choice had storms, and dispatch was so overwhelmed that they were not able to provide any real assistance. I had a new FO who could follow directions, but not really contribute to the decision making process. I ended up diverting to an airport that we do not use much and declaring minimum fuel to get there. At no point was I concerned about the safe outcome of the flight, but I would not say that the event was stress free by any means.
Are you comfortable sharing the most stressful moment in your aviation career? Would love to hear how that played out and how you handled the situation. I imagine it would follow the aviate, navigate, communicate, but having it modeled is incredibly helpful to me.
