![]() ![]() Though he hadn’t had this eventuality in mind, Hoy was fortunate to have other strings to his bow. Just 32 years old, still tens of thousands of pounds in debt from his flight training, and with a young family and a mortgage, what was he to do? Fortunately, the loss-of-license insurance that came with his Gold Air contract relieved some of the pressure, but he faced the prospect of having to start a new career to span some 30 or more years. He confirmed the diagnosis to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and, sure enough, that flight from Geneva proved to be his last as a professional pilot. But he didn’t respond to Type 2 medications and was soon getting a crash course in regulating his diabetes by injecting insulin. He hoped that tests would reveal that he had Type 2 diabetes, which would have allowed him to keep his pilot’s license (albeit flying in a multi-crew aircraft commercially under restricted conditions). Unlike most of us, Hoy knew something about diabetes because his brother has had the condition for more than 20 years. “I know,” said the doctor, rejecting Hoy’s plea that he return for further checks after completing the next day’s flight to Malaga, Spain. “I can’t have diabetes,” Hoy told the general practitioner. Hoy would have preferred a different diagnosis. After a particularly difficult and uncomfortable night flight from Geneva to the UK, he went to see his doctor, who quickly diagnosed the onset of diabetes. Diabetes had other ideas.įor several weeks in the winter of 2003, Hoy had been feeling extremely fatigued, suffering from occasional blurred vision and, increasingly, from an insatiable thirst. Finally settled as the captain of a Learjet 45 that he flew for UK charter operator Gold Air, he felt he had landed just where he belonged in the aviation industry and expected to go gray in the cockpit. In addition, Hoy invested four or five years of his life in completing the extensive training required for him to fly for a living. And his grandfather had chipped in more money when the bank could lend no more to complete a self-funded path to an airline transport pilot license. Quite apart from his wife and kids, his bank manager had approved loans of almost £100,000 ($190,000) to fund commercial flight training for both fixed-wing types and helicopters. With medical advancements, proper protocols, and years of insulin-dependent pilots safely flying, highly qualified pilots with diabetes are able to fly commercially.Plenty of people had a lot riding on Andrew Hoy’s enjoying a long and prosperous career as a professional pilot. Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration also announced that the United States will also allow pilots with insulin-treated diabetes to fly for commercial airlines. For instance, the United Kingdom and Canada allow pilots with diabetes to fly commercially if there is a second pilot in the cockpit. This rule may also vary depending on where you are in the world. The main reason is the concern that pilots with diabetes may suffer an episode of high or low blood sugar in flight that could lead to an emergency. In most cases, if you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, then you cannot possess a class 1 or class 2 medical certificate that allows you to become a commercial pilot but there are exceptions. The aspiring pilot or pilot needs to get regular health exams to maintain their license. With the Class 3 Medical Certificate, you may fly private, as a student, as a flight instructor, as a sports pilot, or for recreational operations. The aspiring pilot or pilot must prove that they have controlled their blood glucose levels for at least six months. Between these medical certificates, it is most likely that people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes will only get a hold of the Class 3 Medical Certificate through a special issuance procedure. Class 1 is the highest medical certificate and allows one to have the maximum privileges. There are 3 types of Medical Certificates: Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3. It depends on what pilot license you want to have and where you want to fly. ![]()
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