Obtain a Medical Certificate for Your Pilot’s License
To obtain a pilot's license in the United States, an applicant must first pass a Federal Aviation Administration-approved physical examination by an FAA-designated aviation medical examiner (AME) who certifies they are healthy enough to fly an airplane in United States air space.
As part of RWJBarnabas Health’s Corporate Care program, we provide medical examinations for:
- Second-class pilots – these pilots fly commercial planes
- Third-class pilots – students, recreational and private pilots
Pilots must have a medical certificate to be allowed fly in the United States. The AME will complete your medical examination and their part of the FAA application form during your visit. If you meet the required medical standards, the AME will issue you a medical certificate.
To make an appointment for an FAA Aviation Medical Exam, please call the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Corporate Care office at 973-926-7224.
What Does an Aviation Medical Examiner Look For?
During a physical examination, the medical examiner checks for health conditions that could potentially impair an applicant’s ability to control an aircraft.
Federal standards for aviation medical certifications include assessment of a pilot’s:
- Distance, near and intermediate vision
- Color vision
- Hearing
- Ear, nose and throat health
- Pulse and blood pressure
- Heart health
- Mental health, substance dependence and substance abuse
- Urine protein levels, which can indicate problems with kidney, urinary tract function or blood composition, or the presence of infection
- Fitness for flight
Disqualifying Medical Conditions
The aviation medical examination will include an assessment of any initially disqualifying conditions, including diabetes mellitus requiring hypoglycemic medication, certain heart conditions, mental health issues such as psychosis and bipolar disorder, substance abuse, epilepsy and more.
Learn more about the Federal Aviation Guidelines and standards for pilots’ medical examinations.
The examiner will help the pilot gather necessary medical documentation and communicate with the FAA regional office directly to maximum the possibility of getting a special-issue medical certificate from the FAA.
What If I Have a Health Condition?
If the aviation medical examiner uncovers an controllable health condition such as arthritis, asthma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, kidneys stones and chronic hepatitis C, for example, they give the applicant the opportunity to obtain treatment and bring the condition under control.
The applicant must maintain treatment to make sure they are able to control the condition at all times in order to maintain their license.
Conditions AMEs Can Issue (CACI) are a series of conditions the FAA put in place for AMEs to use for assessing whether the applicant meets certain parameters to qualify for certification. Each CACI has a “condition worksheet.” The worksheets provide specific instructions to the examiner and describe condition-specific requirements the applicant has to meet.
Learn more about CACIs with certification worksheets.
Our AME certifies pilots with CACI conditions and keeps the pilot’s health on track.
When there is a need for special issuance, our AME is able to get pilots certified faster by communicating with the regional FAA office in a timely manner.
How Long Does the FAA Certificate Last?
The medical examination certification can expire anywhere from 6 months to 5 years depending on variables including:
- Type of license
- Applicant's age
For example, someone applying for a recreational or private pilot's license may only have to be examined every 5 years if they are under the age of 40.
On-Site Expert
At RWJBarnabas Health, our aviation medical examiner is:
Aviation Medical Examiner
Medical Director
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
Dr. Ma has been designated as an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner since 2017. He has certified recreational pilots, private pilots, cargo pilots and helicopter pilots. He has experience certifying pilots with health conditions.
Location
RWJBarnabas Health Corporate Care – Newark
365 Osborn Terrace, 1st Floor
Newark, NJ 07112
Phone:
973-926-7224
Fax: 973-926-3111
To make an appointment for an FAA Aviation Medical Exam, please call the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Corporate Care office at 973-926-7224. If you have questions, email Dr Ma at Ge.Ma@rwjbh.org.