On making it difficult for everyone else

On 5/4/07 5:23 AM, in article
, "Dan G"
wrote:

On May 4, 12:12 pm, Dan G wrote:
An ASN database query gives:

http://aviation-safety.net/database/....php?Event=FCI


Should say that list is for "flight crew incapacitation", which
includes a range of occurences. However a notable absence from that
list is the 1972 Trident crash near Staines, just outside of London.
The captain had an acute heart condition during a cockpit emergency
that no doubt compounded the problem.


Dan

Medical examinations are really useless in determining who is safe to fly.
Very few pilots are grounded due to objective medical findings. Listening to
the heart and lungs, looking in eyes and ears, reviewing EKG's and lab
results: those items have a very low yield in detecting medical problems.

The only portion of the exam with significant relevance to determining
health or lack thereof is the history: what the individual says they are
experiencing. This requires honest reporting, and we all know that there is
a tremendous incentive to report that all is well, and to ignore those pesky
heart palpitations, or the migraines that come on with visual disturbances,
or those chest pains that get worse with exercise, etc.

That's how folks continue flying with disqualifying medical conditions: they
lie about them on their medicals.

JMHO,
Bullwinkle

On May 4, 1:54 pm, Bullwinkle wrote:
Medical examinations are really useless in determining who is safe to fly.
Very few pilots are grounded due to objective medical findings. Listening to
the heart and lungs, looking in eyes and ears, reviewing EKG's and lab
results: those items have a very low yield in detecting medical problems.

ECGs and cholesterol levels - both tested in medicals - are good
indicators of cardiac health. I expect pilots normally pass this part
of the medical because they keep themselves healthy in order to do so.

Cardiac disease is the second biggest killer in the 44-65 age group -
behind cancer - and the fact so few pilots collapse at the controls
suggests that these tests do work.

In this case the results of the tests meant the crash pilot knew that
sudden collapse was a stronger-than-normal possibility for him. The
problem is that he knowingly put other people at risk too by
continuing to tow and his club's procedures were not good enough to
find him out. (And while afaik it's never happened it's conceivable
that an out-of-control single seater could harm people on the ground.
Such an event would be quite bad for gliding I think.)

I think the point the accident report was making is that *everyone*
needs to be properly checked that they meet requirements, and
procedures should be put in place in Ireland to make sure that
happens. I don't think that's harmful to gliding.


Dan