HIMS AME. Just breathe. We're here to help.
So You Might Need a HIMS Aviation Medical Examiner
Let's write a good personal statement.
H.I.M.S. the (Human Interventional and Motivational Study)
If you have found your way to this website chances are that you or someone, you're working with has been told, recommended, or gently notified via certified letter from the FAA, that they are unable to determine your eligibility for any class of Medical. This letter is common.
About Us
Dr. Mike Stretanski, AME, CFII, AGI, IGI
Dr. Mike Stretanski, AME, CFII, AGI, IGI
Dr. Mike Stretanski, AME, CFII, AGI, IGI
"Dr. Mike" Stretanski is an actively teaching flight instructor who also runs a medically assisted opiate dependency program he is also a chemical dependency counselor and supervises two chemical dependency counselor assistants in his office. As a rehabilitation medicine physician, he is familiar with complex psychopharmacological care,
"Dr. Mike" Stretanski is an actively teaching flight instructor who also runs a medically assisted opiate dependency program he is also a chemical dependency counselor and supervises two chemical dependency counselor assistants in his office. As a rehabilitation medicine physician, he is familiar with complex psychopharmacological care, PTSD, anxiety, detoxification, tapering, depression, and basic neurocognitive and behavioral sciences.
He flies a Mooney M20-R / G and while he is a representative of the FAA as a pilot he enjoys flying, pays aircraft insurance, ramp fees, gets a BFR, maintains IFR currency, lies on his back crawling under his place and washes the oil from her and he logs on to creates a MedExpress encounter number and gets an FAA Medical exam from another AME - just like you. This means he is on "your side"
As a CFI-I he specializes in high-performance, technically advanced, complex aircraft transition training, but does do some primary training. He is president of EAA chapter 1625 at Marysville (Union County) Airport. He flies Young Eagles and is the Young Eagles Director for EAA 1625. He flies for Angel Flight NE and Lifeline Pilots. He is President and Director for IMC Club for central Ohio. He has survived THREE engine outs and 2 large bird strikes without injury.
Things Might Seem Odd
Dr. Mike Stretanski, AME, CFII, AGI, IGI
Dr. Mike Stretanski, AME, CFII, AGI, IGI
Yes, this can be a scary time and with an unknown process and you feel like your career and goals are uncertain.
No, you cannot go under Basic Med.
Maybe you just have a history of being on an antidepressant or maybe you've got a maor NTSB incident with injuries.
Every possible effort to help you will be made.
The requirements may change a
Yes, this can be a scary time and with an unknown process and you feel like your career and goals are uncertain.
No, you cannot go under Basic Med.
Maybe you just have a history of being on an antidepressant or maybe you've got a maor NTSB incident with injuries.
Every possible effort to help you will be made.
The requirements may change and it can be a fluid process, sometimes almost seeming to be nebulous - which is why we spend a lot of time on the phone with Oaklahoma City
You probably never heard of HIMS before this, and what does Human Intervention and Motivational Study even mean? - Well, they say it sounds better than "Pilots the FAA has reason to be worried about" and "Pilots in Trouble" was already taken. HIMS is a respectful non-judgemental term for a joint program between the FAA and aviation industry to create a way to certify and monitor the health of pilots who would otherwise not fly.
UNDERSTAND SOMETHING NOW
Dr. Mike Stretanski, AME, CFII, AGI, IGI
UNDERSTAND SOMETHING NOW
Maybe you were just placed on an antidepressant for a brief period from your NP or PCP because you went through a perfectly human experience and needed a little support or maybe you need to be monitored for other medication with the FAA. We are here to help get it straightened out. However, if you are here for a DUI, especially a second
Maybe you were just placed on an antidepressant for a brief period from your NP or PCP because you went through a perfectly human experience and needed a little support or maybe you need to be monitored for other medication with the FAA. We are here to help get it straightened out. However, if you are here for a DUI, especially a second DUI or if you "did not blow and got it knocked down" you are going to have to fully and totally accept something right now. The FAA is going to expect 100% complete alcohol abstinence going forward. Not only that, you will be monitored for abstinence. Whatever was the most recent alcoholic beverage you had needs to be the last one until you no longer want to or are able to be a pilot. Anyone that tells you something else is either not a HIMS AME, does not know what they are doing, is in denial or is trying to get you into more trouble than you already have. If you find this unreasonable, unacceptable, or unobtainable then you don't understand just how much responsibility comes with the privilege of being a pilot. It is not just you or you and your passengers the FAA needs to consider, it is the effect on the airspace system. You are going to have to to some things to comply and they will be dictated by the FAA -No, you cannot just get letters from friends and other pilots and "create your own program" The FAA will outline exactly what they want and in what timeframe. You are dealing with a federal agency that will outline what you need to do. Many pilots seek to "create their own program" and send in letters, drug screens, even artwork ... all this does is waste time and brings you closer to a "failure to respond" deadline. Yes, we can call in and confirm that they are in receipt of reports that they may be asking for. Right now, it is tempting and attractive to believe that your situation is different, unique and does not and should not be processed like all the other DUI's, You feel like if you could just talk to them and explain what happened how you never ever drove with an elevated BAC before that this would all just go away.
The good news is that - YOU WILL HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY in your personal statement. The FAA is accountable to the American People/ the tax payers and when an accident happens, every news media outlet will know the public record of the pilot and questions will be asked as to why they let someone fly. Therefore you cannot just ay it was a one-time thing and expect it to go away. So .... no, we cannot say a letter from you PCP, your friends, parents, coach, is a
substitute for a HIMS psychiatric evaluation or neuropsychological formal report when and if they are requested.
We will share a story here
A student pilot once came to us with a history of brief incarceration, and a long list of charges of cocaine trafficking, kidnapping, assault, extortion and even attempted murder. He was open and honest, he was involved in a certain "organization" outside of the United States and had been done with that life for 10 years. He began by saying, "I was a really bad dude at one point in my life and my record shows it". In his personal statement to the FAA he reported that he "really screwed up and want to see if there was any chance at all he could be a pilot", It took some time, it wasn't free and there were a lot of hoops to jump through, but he eventually got special issuance. We saw him monthly for several years, and now is completely done with the HIMS program and flying both cargo and transport for an international airline. He never needed a lawyer for the FAA.
So there is hope.