Your readers might be interested to know that the article in today's Journal News regarding the medical certificate of the instructor involved in the April 29 crash of a single-engine Cessna which was on approach to Westchester County Airport contains some information which ranges from "just plain wrong" to "interesting, but meaningless in the context of what may have happened."

1. Although the article refers to the airplane's "propellers" as being still working when the plane crashed, it did not have "propellers." Being a single-engine airplane, it had only one propeller.

2. The article reports that the instructor may have been flying without a valid medical certificate because FAA records showed his last medical certificate renewal took place in March of 2003. The article reports that  pilots over the age of 40 must have a medical examination every 12 months if they hold a second or third class medical certificate issued by the FAA. This is wrong.

A second class medical certificate (required for commercial flying privileges, such as for acting as pilot in command of a charter flight) is, indeed, valid for 12 calendar months. However, if not renewed by the end of the 12th month, it automatically becomes valid as a third class certificate, which is good for 24 calendar months. A flight instructor needs only a third class medical certificate.

(The flight instructor must renew the instructor privileges every 24 months, which is a separate issue not touched upon by the Journal News.) There are three classes of FAA medical certificates: first class, for Airline Transport Pilots; second class, for commerical pilots; third class, for private pilots (flight instructors, too).

3. It is conceivable that the instructor renewed his medical certificate before the end of March, 2005. It will not be possible to know that until the investigators have had more time to go through government records, or until we know what paperwork he was carrying with him on the flight.

 FAA regulations require that pilots carry their current pilot certificate (license) and medical certificate (a separate piece of paper) when they fly. After giving an applicant an examination, and issuing a new medical certificate if appropriate, FAA Designated Medical Examiners (usually local physicians who work with the FAA) have up to two weeks to submit paperwork to the FAA in Oklahoma City. It can then sometimes take a number of months for the FAA to update its computer records to reflect the renewal. So, it's entirely possible that the instructor did have a valid medical certificate at the time of the accident. Only time for a thorough investigation will tell.

4. Whether the instructor had a current medical certificate likely is irrelevant. Medical factors rarely are a cause of airplane accidents. If an airplane's engine is going to quit (probably not the case here), the engine doesn't first ask to see whether the pilot's medical certificate is current! If Mother Nature is going to put a thunderstorm in the flight path (also not likely here), she doesn't first ask to see whether the pilot is carrying up-to-date paperwork!

Peter Katz
Publisher
"AVIATION MONTHLY" and "NTSB REPORTER"