On 12/27/07 5:01 PM, in article
, "Dan G"
wrote:

On Dec 27, 6:54 pm, danlj wrote:

2: scopalamine is a prohibited medication per FAA aeromedical rules,
so if you have an incident and are found to have been using it, be
aware that your insurance may not cover you, and you may face
enforcement action on your licence if you survive. The non-requirement
of medical certification for glider pilots is not permission to fly
impaired. Every pilot is required by FARs to refrain from flying with
any unsafe condition.

You piqued my interest in the US rules so I went looking for them. As
far as I can see there is no such thing as a "prohibited" medications
list in FAA regs. I did find, in Title 14 Part 91, the following:

91.17 Alcohol or drugs.

(a) No person may act or attempt to act as a crewmember of a civil
aircraft--

(1) Within 8 hours after the consumption of any alcoholic beverage;

(2) While under the influence of alcohol;

(3) While using any drug that affects the person's faculties in any
way contrary to safety

Also on the FAA website a guidance note on OTC medicines:


http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/Meds_flying_web.pd
f

Which makes it clear that a pilot should not fly if using a drug that
lists drowsiness as a side-effect.

All the new-generation "non-sedating" antihistamines list "drowsiness"
as a side-effect and I personally know several pilots who use them for
hay-fever relief :-/.


Dan

The FAA allows a lot of medications to be used by pilots that have potential
side effects. Then again, there are certain medications that are prohibited
outright, whether or not the pilot has side effects.

Examples of ones that can be used if there are no side effects after a 48
hour ground test (this assumes that the underlying condition itself would
not prevent safe performance of crew duties):
Motrin and other NSAIDs
Antibiotics
Non-sedating antihistamines (Allegra, Claritin, and Clarinex if no side
effects after 48 hours, but not Zyrtec)
Blood pressure meds (there are some additional rules with this one.)
Etc. etc. There are many like this.

Examples of meds that can't be used at all, regardless of side effects, or
effects of the underlying disorder:
Antidepressants
Antipsychotics
Muscle relaxers
Antiseizure meds (whether or not there is a seizure disorder)
Sleeping pills (duh!)
Narcotic pain killers
etc. etc. There are many like this, also. Sometimes history of use of
these meds requires a waiver ("special issuance", in FAA lingo), sometimes
just a waiting period after the last dose.

For what it's worth, you should get competent advice from someone who knows
before flying after use of any meds.

But the truth of the matter is, FAR 61.53 makes you your own flight surgeon,
by placing the responsibility for medically grounding and ungrounding,
squarely on you. Even power pilots who require a medical can determine
(between their medicals) for themselves if they can safely perform their
crew duties. AME's only perform the medical exam, they don't ground and
unground the way a military flight surgeon does, between medicals.

Again, I recommend you make this kind of decision only after seeking
competent advice (which, in some cases is not your local AME: many of them
do so few medicals and have such little aviation medicine expertise that
they just don't know, no matter how well meaning they are).

Respectfully,
Bullwinkle
Also a physician, board certified in Aerospace Medicine