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The annual incapacitation rate of commercial pilots.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  22272515     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Process    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
INTRODUCTION: Scant data are available on the annual incapacitation rate of aircrew. This study analyzes all incapacitations occurring among UK commercial pilots, in flight and off duty, in 2004 to derive a baseline minimum annual incapacitation rate for the UK commercial pilot population.
METHOD: The study cohort was all professional pilots holding a valid UK/JAR (Joint Aviation Requirements) Class 1 medical certificate and license in 2004. Three data sources were used to identify episodes of incapacitation: the statutory notification of prolonged illness, personal injury, or pregnancy to the UK Civil Aviation Authority; Mandatory Occurrence Reports (MORs) for in-flight medical incidents; and death certificates. The total number of incapacitations was expressed as a proportion of the number of professional pilots to give an incapacitation rate.
RESULTS: In 2004 there were 16,145 UK/JAR professional pilot license holders. Of the notified medical events, 36 presented as incapacitations; half were cardiac or cerebrovascular. In-flight incapacitations were predominantly of psychiatric cause. There were four sudden deaths. The type of incapacitation varied with age. A male pilot in his 60s had 5 times the risk of incapacitation of a male pilot in his 40s. The annual incapacitation rate was 40/16,145 = 0.25%.
DISCUSSION: Aeromedical emphasis on minimizing cardiovascular risk and monitoring the mental health of pilots remains appropriate. Age should influence the content and periodicity of regulatory aeromedical assessments. The demonstrated annual incapacitation rate of 0.25% may provide a basis for quantifying the acceptable risk for a pilot undertaking single pilot commercial air transport operations.
Authors:
Sally Evans; Sally-Ann Radcliffe
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Aviation, space, and environmental medicine     Volume:  83     ISSN:  0095-6562     ISO Abbreviation:  Aviat Space Environ Med     Publication Date:  2012 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2012-01-25     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7501714     Medline TA:  Aviat Space Environ Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  42-9     Citation Subset:  IM; S    
Affiliation:
Medical Department, UK Civil Aviation Authority, Aviation House, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex RH6 0YR, UK. sally.evans@caa.co.uk
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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