Is there a limit as to how short sighted you can be in order to pass a pilots medical certificate?

Question

I want to become a pilot of commercial aircraft, but i want to know if theres a limit as to how short sighted you are allowed to be to pass the medical. Also is corrective surgery allowed to help you pass the medical.

Answer 1

No, there's no limit to short-sightedness in the USA as long as your eyes are correctable to 20/20 for distance and 20/40 for near vision with glasses or contacts.  Yes, they do now accept some types of corrective eye surgery, but in my opinion it is not worth the potential risks. Also, if you are extremely myopic or have an astigmatism (I have both), chances are good that you won't have 20/20 after the surgery. You'll need to consult with an eye specialist to evaluate both the risks and benefits of eye surgery.

Also, see this FAA webpage about LASIK surgery: http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates...

I've flown professionally for over 20 years with glasses and I have extremely poor uncorrected vision. I never got hired by a major airline (vision is possibly the reason) but I was a regional airline captain before I went into corporate flying, where no 20/20 uncorrected vision limitations exist for new-hires..

Answer 2

I hope theres a test, sorry but im the passenger!!!!

Answer 3

Mind and post which airline you would like to fly for, so that I don't ever book with them! X

Answer 4

Code of Federal Regulations

Title 14: Aeronautics and Space

§ 67.103   Eye.

Eye standards for a first-class airman medical certificate are:

(a) Distant visual acuity of 20/20 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If corrective lenses (spectacles or contact lenses) are necessary for 20/20 vision, the person may be eligible only on the condition that corrective lenses are worn while exercising the privileges of an airman certificate.

(b) Near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at 16 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If age 50 or older, near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at both 16 inches and 32 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses.

(c) Ability to perceive those colors necessary for the safe performance of airman duties.

(d) Normal fields of vision.

(e) No acute or chronic pathological condition of either eye or adnexa that interferes with the proper function of an eye, that may reasonably be expected to progress to that degree, or that may reasonably be expected to be aggravated by flying.

(f) Bifoveal fixation and vergence-phoria relationship sufficient to prevent a break in fusion under conditions that may reasonably be expected to occur in performing airman duties. Tests for the factors named in this paragraph are not required except for persons found to have more than 1 prism diopter of hyperphoria, 6 prism diopters of esophoria, or 6 prism diopters of exophoria. If any of these values are exceeded, the Federal Air Surgeon may require the person to be examined by a qualified eye specialist to determine if there is bifoveal fixation and an adequate vergence-phoria relationship. However, if otherwise eligible, the person is medical certificate pending the results of the examination.

Answer 5

You require 20/20 vision to become a pilot or air traffic controller.