Is a bipolar disorder diagnoses disqualifying for a pilot? If you are a pilot and have ever been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, whether or not the diagnoses was correct, you may have questions on your eligibility for FAA medical certification, and what information to disclose on your medical application.
Generally, if there is a legitimate bipolar diagnosis, this diagnosis would be a bar to certification. However, before a determination can be made in any one case, we would need to determine if there was, in fact, a legitimate diagnosis of bipolar disorder in the pilot’s medical history. Our conclusion would be determined by an extensive review of the pilot’s treatment records and a consultation with an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME). In addition, the AME would also likely suggest a forensic psychiatric review and evaluation. We have had several successes following this methodology primarily because we have demonstrated that the original bipolar diagnosis was made in error.
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