QUESTION: I am a 72-year-old single-engine land/sea/glider pilot with a 3rd Class Medical good through November 2017. I have zero medical issues, and have completed my physical and self-test for BasicMed. I base my vintage 172 in northern Michigan in the summer, and plan to fly into Canada from time to time. My understanding is that Canada doesn’t recognize BasicMed as valid; I’m OK this summer on my 3rd but is Canada likely to accept BasicMed in 2018 and beyond?
ANSWER: Bill, you are correct. As of this response, Transport Canada does not allow US pilots to operate under BasicMed in Canadian airspace. We are working on it, but no acceptance yet, and certainly no timeframe for when that may happen. In the meantime, if you have an unexpired Third Class medical certificate, you can still exercise those privileges even with your BasicMed eligibility, so you can make that trip to Canada using your current medical certificate. Possessing both BasicMed qualifications and a Third Class medical is fine. The only caveat is that you cannot change in flight the type of medical qualification you are operating under. If a BasicMed qualified pilot acts as pilot in command during any portion of the flight, then the entire flight must be conducted in accordance with BasicMed rules.
With respect to annual training/recurrency or additional medical requirements, there have been no changes on how the insurance industry has responded in regards to “older” pilots. If an annual medical, flight review, or IPC was required, that will remain the same under BasicMed, only now, BasicMed is generally accepted as the annual medical (if required). Nearly across the board, BasicMed has been accepted by the carriers that AOPA Insurance partners with; however, certain circumstances may still warrant additional requirements – items such as having high or “smooth” liability limits, loss history, aircraft type (high performance), etc.
Outside of these special circumstances, our carriers are readily accepting pilots using BasicMed – in fact, many carriers no longer even ask for BasicMed or Third Class medical dates.
If you want to keep your options open to flying in Canada for the present, you can just maintain your Third Class medical and BasicMed eligibility at the same time.
QUESTION: When I renewed my aircraft insurance this spring, the first underwriter insisted on an annual physical because of my age. The carrier went to another underwriter and the policy went ahead. My sense is that the insurance industry hasn’t taken a firm position, and arbitrary age-related medical requirements for aircraft insurance make me nervous about moving over to BasicMed.
Does AOPA have anything other than thin anecdotal evidence as to how the insurance industry will respond as older pilots move away from old-style medical certificates?
ANSWER: With respect to annual training/recurrency or medical requirements, there have been no changes on how the insurance industry has responded in regards to “older” pilots – i.e., if an annual medical, flight review, or IPC was required, that will remain the same under BasicMed – just now BasicMed is generally accepted as their annual medical (if required). Nearly across the board, BasicMed has been accepted by our carriers; however, certain circumstances may still warrant additional requirements – items such as having high or “smooth” liability limits, loss history, aircraft type (high performance), etc.
Outside of these special circumstances, our carriers are readily accepting pilots using BasicMed – in fact, many carriers no longer even ask for BasicMed or Third Class dates.
QUESTION: If no surprise condition arises, I should have no trouble with a physical this fall. Would I therefore be wise to maintain or renew the 3rd Class Medical given my need to fly into Canada and insurance rumblings?
ANSWER: Likely yes, if solely for Canada. Not knowing specifics (age, liability selected, history, etc.), we cannot fully respond to needing a Third Class medical for insurance purposes. We can say that we have many pilots flying under BasicMed as of now – pilots of all ages, in fact.
