| GENERAL INFORMATION
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| KEYWORDS
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Category 3 aviation medical certificate, diabetes, ischemic stroke, medication
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| FILE NO.
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P-4178-01
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| SECTOR (Marine or Aviation)
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Aviation
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| SPECIFIC JOB
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Professional teacher
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| DIAGNOSIS (Primary, Secondary, etc.)
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Primary: Hemispheric ischemic stenosis stroke
Secondary: Type II diabetes
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| REVIEW
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| DATE OF DETERMINATION
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February 8, 2017
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| MEMBER
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Dr. Christopher Brooks
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| DETERMINATION
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The Minister’s decision is confirmed.
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| REASONS FOR THE DETERMINATION
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Refusal to renew a category 3 aviation medical certificate — The applicant has suffered from type II diabetes for about 11 years. In May 2015, he suffered a very serious stroke which decreased coordination of his left hand and loss of fine motor control. He has made a complete recovery and is symptom-free from the stroke but is maintained on an extensive number of powerful medications to ameliorate the risk of another stroke. Because of these risk factors and the possibilities of a repeat stroke or epilepsy which may cause incapacitation in the cockpit, Transport Canada (TC) denied renewing the applicant’s category 3 aviation medical certificate. The main issue is one of flight safety and the likelihood of incapacitation in the cockpit. The applicant has five risk factors that predispose him to having another stroke — history of a serious stroke, diabetes, high blood lipids, hypertension, and gout. Furthermore, he has two other risk factors that could provoke incapacitation; the first being a potential for epilepsy following the endarterectomy and secondly, the possibility of side effects from the cocktail of five very powerful medications that he must take to control his diabetes and prevent a another stroke. For these reasons, the member agrees with the Minister of Transport’s position that public interest in flight safety is paramount. The member confirms the Minister’s decision to not issue a category 3 aviation medical certificate.
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| APPEAL
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| DATE OF DECISION
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| MEMBERS
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| DECISION
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| REASONS FOR THE DECISION
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| OTHER/COMMENTS
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