Action
Notice; request for comment.
Summary
With this notice, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informs applicants for airman medical certification with insulin- treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) of a new protocol available to evaluate pilots seeking to exercise pilot privileges as airline transport, commercial, or private pilots. The FAA may only certificate pilots with ITDM through the special-issuance process with case-by-case assessment of overall risk and available risk mitigation. Previously available medical science, treatment, and monitoring have allowed the FAA to safely provide special issue third-class medical certificates for private pilot privileges since 1996, but was not sufficient to meet the higher levels of safety demanded for applicants considered for airline transport or commercial pilot duties. The new FAA risk assessment protocol, based on established advances in medical science since 1996, makes it possible to mitigate flight safety risk so that applicants seeking first- or second-class special-issuance medical certification may be considered for the exercise of either airline transport or commercial pilot privileges. Applicants for third-class special issuance may apply under the existing third-class-only protocol or the new protocol.