Can we be a pilot if we have glaucoma?
Answers
Answer:
Can a person with an eyesight problem become a pilot?
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Robert Hollander
Answered April 7, 2017
Question:
Can a person with an eyesight problem become a pilot?
It depends on what the eyesight problem is and I suppose on the jurisdiction (country).
I have a significant eyesight problem. When I was five years old I was playing with a pair of my mother’s sewing scissors. Somehow I accidentally poked the scissors all the way through my left eye starting in the center of the lens in front and exiting my eye in the center of the retina in the rear.
This was long before the modern technology we have today such as lasers and the like. The way the ophthalmologists dealt with my eye was to remove it from my socket and sew it up with needle and whatever kind of material they use as thread. Amazingly enough, the surgeons were so skilled in their work that I did not lose all of my eyesight in that eye.
One of the things medical examiners check for to approve your medical certificate is glaucoma. Because they make such a point of checking for it, I assume this is a problem that might prevent you from being able to fly.
Right after I graduated college, I went to the Air Force recruiter and discussed what my opportunities to be as a pilot in the Air Force. The recruiter indicated to me that, based on the condition of my left eye which could only be corrected down to 20 – 50 with glasses, there was no chance I was going to be able to be a pilot or a copilot. However, he did tell me that there was a chance I could fly sideways which is another way of saying I could possibly be a flight engineer.
In those days, I didn’t realize that being a flight engineer could have led to an entry-level position as a flight engineer in the airlines and then possibly to the position of first officer and captain. It just turned out to be one of those missed opportunities.
But I didn’t give up my dream of flying. In the early 80s I took lessons and earned my private pilot license followed by an instrument rating.
Because of the vision in my left eye, I had to meet with a special representative of the FAA whose responsibility was to determine if I could fly an airplane without creating the danger to passengers and those on the ground. We went up for a test flight together and he determined that I would be okay. He gave me a STATEMENT OF DEMONSTRATED ABILITY so that next time I went to take my medical exam, I would not have to reestablish that I am capable of flying in spite of my left eye.
Answer:
depends on what the eyesight problem is and I suppose on the jurisdiction (country).
I have a significant eyesight problem. When I was five years old I was playing with a pair of my mother’s sewing scissors. Somehow I accidentally poked the scissors all the way through my left eye starting in the center of the lens in front and exiting my eye in the center of the retina in the rear.