Calgary pilot who beat cancer remains grounded over delayed medical review

A young Calgary pilot who beat cancer is still grounded, waiting months for Transport Canada to approve his medical review.

A young Calgary pilot who overcame cancer says he’s still waiting for clearance to return to the cockpit more than eight months after submitting his case to the federal Aviation Medical Review Board.

Ethan Larson, 20, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in April 2024, just a week after completing his commercial flight training.

At the time, he was preparing for his first job interview in the industry.

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“Basically, since I could walk, I’ve always dreamed of being a pilot,” Larson said.

“When I got that news, it was quite devastating because I worked so hard and everything was going great, and I was finally about to achieve my dreams.”

Larson became engaged in the fight of his life, undergoing four rounds of chemotherapy, 12 radiation sessions and a successful stem cell transplant before finally being declared healthy by his medical team.

In December 2024, he applied to have his Transport Canada aviation medical certificate reinstated through the Aviation Medical Review Board, a requirement for all pilots to fly professionally.

Despite submitting medical documentation from his doctors confirming he is fit to return to work, his application remains under review.

“Transport Canada hasn’t been able to give me an exact timeline on when I can expect my medical (certificate) back,” Larson said. “It could be months, it could be years.”

“They left me in the dark, and they told me that if I keep contacting them, it will delay the process even more.”

Larson, who hopes to continue his training and gain experience to one day become a commercial airline pilot, adds that he’s also losing opportunities to work during what’s been a significant pilot shortage in Canada.

“I had companies calling me, and they were asking when I can come back, and I just had to keep telling them that I’m just stuck on the ground right now. It’s quite discouraging.”

Safety vs. careers: Transport Canada responds

CTV News has requested an answer from Transport Canada’s Aviation Medical Review Board (AMRB) as to what might be causing delays for pilots waiting for their approval.

The board did not provide information when asked about how many reviews it is currently undertaking, how often it meets, whether staffing issues are causing delays or how long the average review takes.

Transport Canada noted that it could not comment on individual cases, but it did provide the following statement:

“The safety and security of the aviation sector is a top priority for Transport Canada,” the department said.

“The safety and security of the aviation sector is a top priority for Transport Canada. It is vital that persons who hold aviation medical certificates meet the medical standards established in the Canadian Aviation Regulations, through which Canada complies with global safety standards.”

The agency noted cases involving serious medical histories can take longer because they require extra scrutiny by a panel of medical specialists.

“A complex file will result in extended timelines for consideration of flexibility,” Transport Canada said, adding that the board meets regularly to review such cases.

Transport Canada reviews weigh not only a pilot’s health history, but how it may impact performance in abnormal flight conditions, including oxygen changes, stress and rapid decision-making.

“While Transport Canada strives to support industry and livelihoods, safety will always remain the central focus of the process,” the statement read.

Union pressure on Ottawa

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 13,500 Canadian pilots, says medical review delays are compounding existing workforce pressures.

The union says that while some progress has been made, the aviation medical system remains backlogged, leading to “prolonged delays in medical decision-making that continue to ground pilots unnecessarily.”

ALPA President Capt. Tim Perry pointed to a combination of outdated processing infrastructure, high staff attrition and a growing volume of inquiries for causing administrative delays.

He notes that out of 60,000 applications submitted annually, 25 per cent are classified as complex cases and must be reviewed by the AMRB.

“Many of the medical staff reviewing these files are not full-time Transport Canada employees,” Perry said in a statement. “Rather, they are full-time practitioners within Canada’s broader health-care system.”

“As such, their AMRB participation is an additional responsibility, which inherently limits how quickly complex medical files are processed.”

The statement went on to say that the aviation medical certificate is an essential document for Canadian professional pilots wishing to obtain an aviation licence or permit, and that more needs to be done to mitigate delays.

“Included in our Budget 2025 submission, ALPA Canada has called on the government to allocate appropriate funding levels to Transport Canada, to ensure the department is able to meet, at minimum, established processing service standards for aviation medical certificates,” Perry said.

“We are also calling on Transport Canada to meet its processing service standard so that airline pilots can return to work as soon as possible.”

Pilot shortage in Canada

The delays come as Canada faces a well-documented shortage of airline pilots, an issue felt across the globe.

“Currently within Canada, it’s a very interesting time and very high probabilities of getting into a right or left-hand seat in a cockpit,” said Calgary-based aviation analyst Rick Erickson.

“The country has around 35,000 pilots. Over 50 per cent are older than 40 years of age, and lots are retiring. Air Canada alone loses around 100 pilots a year to retirement.”

The shortfall has been linked over the last few years to the COVID-19 pandemic, when airlines grounded flights and paused training programs, creating a backlog of retirements and fewer new pilots entering the industry.

Airlines and flight schools have since been scrambling to rebuild their ranks, with some companies even exploring the federal Temporary Foreign Worker program to fill cockpit positions — a move that has drawn criticism from pilot unions.

Erickson, however, also notes that breaking into an aviation career is costly.

“The problem is that it costs around $60,000 at the low end, but more likely $100,000 in training costs alone for someone to get into that workforce,” he said.

He noted that while the training barrier is steep, Canadian pilots are highly regarded globally.

“There’s lots of opportunity, and it’s not just in Canada, but worldwide as well.”

However, for prospective pilots like Larson, the uncertainty has been frustrating.

“Every single day while I was in the hospital, my goal was just to get back flying,” he said. “I’ve just been thinking about flying every day, and I’m just desperate to return.”

Country music star advocates for pilot’s dreams

Country music star George Canyon, who is close with Larson’s family, says the young pilot’s determination is inspiring.

“I think when a young person has a dream as intense as Ethan does to fly, and works so hard to get through everything, then to be given a diagnosis of leukemia – it just took the wind out of the sails,” he said.

“But that drove him even harder to fight off cancer and come out the other side clean.”

Canyon, a pilot and type 1 diabetic himself, says he understands the challenges of navigating Transport Canada’s medical reviews.

“The fortitude Ethan has had to fight leukemia is way beyond anything I could muster,” he said. “I’ve lived with type 1 diabetes for 40 years, and I work very hard every day at it, but I was told I’d never fly at one point,”

“Canada was the first country to allow type 1 diabetics to become private, and now commercial pilots.”

Canyon also praised Ethan as a trailblazer for other young pilots, saying timely reviews are crucial.

“It’s important that this is brought to light. This paves the way for all those other children that want to become commercial pilots that might unfortunately have to fight through leukemia,” he said.