If you are monocular, if one of your eyes is truly or legally blind or has a substandard vision, due to a condition, like an amblyopia, but you still want to be a commercial pilot and obtain Class 1 Medical certificate, then I might have some news for you.
The good news is that this is possible. International ICAO medical standards specify that monocular pilots can perform flying tasks safely (see further), and there are several states that follow that.
The bad news is that each ICAO state has the right to extend these standards and impose additional restrictions on top of them, which many other states do, unfortunately.
You might spend quite some time looking for countries, which exercises sufficient flexibility towards pilots with monocularity or substandard vision, as suggested by ICAO. And that’s going to be a pain in the neck, I have to tell you. Your initial medical examination in any suitable jurisdiction is going to be hard and possibly expensive. But something is better than nothing, am I right?
So, if you’re one of those immensely stubborn people who:
- has bad or no sight in one of the eyes; and
- considers a professional pilot career; and
- has no problems going really long ways to make this happen, and
- is able to consider relocation to the right country, and everything left is finding the right jurisdiction,
then this series of the articles is going to help you!
Based on my personal experience or research, I will suggest where in the world a Medical Class 1 certificate, so essential for commercial flying, is achievable for monocular pilots and pilots with substandard vision in one eye. I am also going to cover the process of obtaining Class 1 for these countries, again, based on my experience and research.
Disclaimer
Everything written in this series of articles is strictly subject to specific health conditions and is in no way medical or legal advice. You may find yourself in a completely different team if your fields of view, visual acuity, etc. vary even at the slightest from mine or of someone else who went through the process! In any event, always consult with your AME first to learn about your options.
I am not an AME myself and have no medical education. I just belong to the group of people described above and gone through processes of clearing a Class 1 medical in several jurisdictions and have something I could share.
Definitions
In various countries’ aero-medical regulations, you will find a number of terms, which you should be aware of.
Corrected or uncorrected visual acuity stands for the visual acuity achievable by an eye with or without the help of corrective glasses (or lenses), respectively.
In most jurisdictions analyzed, a clear distinction is made between monocular applicants and applicants with substandard vision in one eye. This depends on a number of vision parameters of your eyes.
For example, for the purpose of issuing a Class 1 medical, many jurisdictions are in chord that, if the corrected visual acuity of the “bad” eye is in the range from 0.1 (6/6, or 20/200) to 0.7 (6/9, or 20/30), then the applicant is considered to have substandard vision in one eye.
If the corrected visual acuity of the “bad” eye is less than 0.1, then an applicant is considered monocular, or legally blind in one eye.
All of that is valid as long as the other eye and both eyes together achieve the visual acuity of 1.0 (6/6, or 20/20) with or without correction.
Please note that specific values of these parameters may differ per jurisdiction (e.g., the USA and New Zealand seem to be treating the borderline value of 0.1 (6/6, or 20/200) as monocularity, while Canada—as substandard vision).
When it comes to procedural distinctions between treating true monocular applicants (an eye is physically absent or damaged) and functionally monocular applicants (an eye is present, but not able to see for whatever reason), I have not noticed any while researching the regulations.
A word about ICAO
| ❌ MYTH | ✅ REALITY |
|---|---|
| Monocular pilots and pilots with substandard vision in one eye are unsafe due to bad or no depth perception and narrowed field of view. That’s why they’re restricted from commercial operations worldwide. | ICAO specifically states that said pilots can perform flying tasks safely. Binocularity is important for depth perception at close distances, but monocular cues are more important for depth perception at longer distances, which is more relevant for pilots. Field of view deficiency is not significant and can be easily compensated for for monocular pilots, and often not applicable at all for pilots with substand vision in one eye. Jurisdictions which restrict these pilots are either being paranoid or following their own agenda rather than international standards. |
There is no coincidence that national aero-medical standards often share the same numbers and definitions. After all, ICAO member states are implementing ICAO standards. The medical standards are no exception (see ICAO Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine—Doc 8984).
Furthermore, there is one more remarkable point that shall be noted.
When so many countries choose to restrict or even bar pilots with substandard or monocular vision from certification, it creates a natural impression that this is what the international baseline for treating such applicants is. Those states which do exercise flexibility on this matter appear like an exceptional minority.
ICAO Doc 8984 becomes a true revelation here, as it outlines that the international recommendation is, in fact, quite the opposite. It declares monocular pilots being no threat to safety, provided that certain conditions are met (see page III-11-4):
11.6.6 Monocular individuals can perform many flying tasks safely, particularly in multi-crew situations where visual tasks can be shared. For single-seat operations it is sometimes possible to adjust seating or provide aids such as rear-view or downward-looking mirrors to compensate for the loss of peripheral vision.Further, section 1.2.4.9 of Annex 1 also outlines that:
1.2.4.9 If the medical Standards prescribed in Chapter 6 for a particular licence are not met, the appropriate Medical Assessment shall not be issued or renewed unless the following conditions are fulfilled:
a) accredited medical conclusion indicates that in special circumstances the applicant’s failure to meet any requirement, whether numerical or otherwise, is such that exercise of the privileges of the licence applied for is not likely to jeopardize flight safety.
b) relevant ability, skill and experience of the applicant and operational conditions have been given due consideration; and
c) the licence is endorsed with any special limitation or limitations when the safe performance of the licence holder’s duties is dependent on compliance with such limitation or limitations.Therefore, jurisdictions that impose restrictions on pilots with substandard or monocular vision without providing any room for sufficient flexibility are actually following their own restrictive policies rather than international standards.
My condition
Before jumping to specific jurisdictions, I need to mention the parameters of my eyesight. That is going to allow you to compare your situation with mine and evaluate if anything from my experience is relevant to you.
My one eye is nothing special, just a bit short-sighted. This is important, as at least one eye must meet the standards.
My other eye suffers from a severe case of refractive amblyopia (a kind of “lazy eye”). I can still see with it, do things, navigate in space without bumping into corners, as well as detect motion, etc. But my formal visual acuity is too low: about 0.1-0.15 (6/60 – 6/40, or 20/200 – 20/133). I can’t really read text or distinguish small details with that eye. It cannot be corrected with glasses, lenses, or (laser) surgery. Sadly, if this condition is not fixed in childhood, there is no effective clinically-proven way to deal with it any later in adulthood: the train is gone. It stays permanent for the rest of one’s life.
You can imagine, that for the flying purposes it is a big deal: it makes me legally blind in this eye or borderline functionally monocular. Even though I am not a true monocular pilot, my situation is nevertheless so close to it, that in several jurisdictions I am effectively treated as such.
The good news is that my condition is stable. It is not expected to deteriorate or change in any other way on itself at any point in the future. Please continue reading further to learn why this is a good thing.
Some important factors
Commonly, if any health parameter of yours is substandard (vision is no exception), and you’re not declared unfit right away, your AME will defer your case to the authorities for further review. Then, if considered at all, you will find yourself on a wheel of all kinds of discretionary flexibility / waiver issuance procedures, risk assessments, additional examinations and whatnot. These comprehensive reviews are going to take a variety of factors into account. And there are a few factors that rendered particularly influential across many aviation jurisdictions analyzed.
Stability
Unfortunately, you cannot influence this factor the most of the time, but it is significant. The authorities need to be sure, that your condition won’t deteriorate, thus jeopardizing the safety of flying. Stability of the condition improves your chances to be granted a Class 1 under the flexibility process.
Furthermore, it will probably make things easier for you later on. If the authorities are assured that your condition won’t worsen, they will only do the review once. It won’t be needed on subsequent revalidations. At least, not because of this specific medical condition.
And this is a good thing, since each review may last many months, while the validity of a Class 1 is just a year. It is not uncommon for the deferred medical certificates to finally arrive when already expired. As you can imagine, having to undergo such a review on each yearly revalidation will be utterly impractical.
Flying experience
Flying experience may play a crucial role in assessing Class 1 under the flexibility process in some jurisdictions. If an applicant has many hours and no history of medical-related incidents or accidents, this improves their chances to get a positive conclusion from the authorities.
To make use of this factor, you may find it useful to obtain a Class 2 first (which is normally easier than Class 1), study for PPL, build some hours as PIC and then attempt getting Class 1 a year or two later. That may render more successful than applying for Class 1 under flexibility with zero experience. Discuss this option with your AME.
Jurisdictions
So, can someone become a commercial pilot and obtain an initial Class 1 with substandard vision in one eye, amblyopia or monocularity? If so, in which countries and what procedures are associated with it? Let’s find out.
Legend
🔴 – impossible🟠 – unlikely
🟡 – possible for some / likely possible
🟢 – possible
✅ – verified through personal experience
⚠️ – not verified, conclusions based solely on reading the regulations and medical standards; the real situation may differ
Please click on the name of a jurisdiction to learn more about it.
| Jurisdiction | Monocular Applicants | Applicants with Substandard Vision in One Eye |
|---|---|---|
| 🌍 ICAO Doc 8984 For reference only | 🟢 | 🟢 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia (CASA) | coming soon | coming soon |
| 🇨🇦 Canada (TC) | 🟠exemptions discretionary | 🟢✅ |
| 🇪🇺 EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland (EASA) ✅ | 🔴 renewals restricted to multi-crew ops only | 🔴✅ renewals restricted to multi-crew ops only |
| 🇫🇯 Fiji (CAAF) ⚠️ | 🟢 flexibility relies on ICAO Doc 8984 | 🟢 flexibility relies on ICAO Doc 8984 |
| 🇳🇵Nepal (CAAN) ⚠️ | 🟢 flexibility relies on ICAO Doc 8984 | 🟢 flexibility relies on ICAO Doc 8984 |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand (NZ CAA) | 🟠possible for renewal for experienced applicants; other exemptions discretionary | 🟢 |
| 🇴🇲 Oman ⚠️ Standards identical to EASA | 🔴 see EASA | 🔴 see EASA |
| 🇷🇺 Russia (FAVT) ⚠️ | 🔴 | 🔴 |
| 🇿🇦 South Africa (SA CAA) ⚠️ | 🟡 possible for experienced applicants; unspecified for others | 🟡 possible for experienced applicants; unspecified for others |
| 🇬🇧 UK (UK CAA) Standards identical to EASA | 🔴 see EASA | 🔴 see EASA |
| 🇺🇸 USA (FAA) ✅ | 🟢 | 🟢✅ |
Since it is neither practical nor feasible for a single person to attempt Class 1 in or research the regulations of each state possible, this list is, of course, not exhaustive. I hope to update this guide from time to time and looking forward to adding more countries in the future.
If you have any information about jurisdictions presented above, or any other, or if you see any mistake and have experience to share, please do not hesitate to reach out. I will be happy to adjust my guide to help other pilots.
One response to “Class 1 for Pilots with Monocular Vision or Substandard Vision in One Eye”
Dear Boris!
Thank you for the article! I found it very interesting and informative. However I’d like to ask you more about FAA medical requirements regarding substandard vision. Unfortunately I couldn’t find this item while I was reading requirements.