Office of Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-87/7
Title and Subtitle: Sudden in-flight incapacitation in general aviation.
Report Date: August 1987
Authors: Booze CF.
Abstract: Incapacitation in the general aviation flight environment is a matter of utmost concern to the Federal Aviation Administration since the likelihood of accident is greater due to lack of redundant pilot skills in most instances. The purpose of this study was to appraise the adequacy of medical standards in minimizing the risk of sudden incapacitation.
This study considers NTSB data and postcrash medical data received by the Medical Statistical Section of the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, during the time period from 1975 to the present and other related literature to estimate the probability of incapacitation in general aviation. The occurrence of incapacitation for obvious medical reasons is less than would be expected based on general population morbidity/mortality data; however, the need for continued vigilance in certification and education regarding flying with known or suspected medical problems is emphasized. Keywords: Cardiac arrest; Medical emergencies; Loss of consciousness.
Key Words: emergencies, pilots, aviation safety, crashes, incapacitation, aviation medicine, risk, skills, vigilance, probability, statistics, estimates, flight, documents, inflight, standards, redundancy, cardiac arrest.
No. of Pages: 11
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-87/7
Title and Subtitle: Sudden in-flight incapacitation in general aviation.
Report Date: August 1987
Authors: Booze CF.
Abstract: Incapacitation in the general aviation flight environment is a matter of utmost concern to the Federal Aviation Administration since the likelihood of accident is greater due to lack of redundant pilot skills in most instances. The purpose of this study was to appraise the adequacy of medical standards in minimizing the risk of sudden incapacitation.
This study considers NTSB data and postcrash medical data received by the Medical Statistical Section of the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, during the time period from 1975 to the present and other related literature to estimate the probability of incapacitation in general aviation. The occurrence of incapacitation for obvious medical reasons is less than would be expected based on general population morbidity/mortality data; however, the need for continued vigilance in certification and education regarding flying with known or suspected medical problems is emphasized. Keywords: Cardiac arrest; Medical emergencies; Loss of consciousness.
Key Words: emergencies, pilots, aviation safety, crashes, incapacitation, aviation medicine, risk, skills, vigilance, probability, statistics, estimates, flight, documents, inflight, standards, redundancy, cardiac arrest.
No. of Pages: 11
Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012