FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-18/14

Title and Subtitle: Relationships between Pilot Medical Certificate Class and Aviation Accidents in Alaska

Report Date: October 2018

Authors: Siddiki M, Skaggs V

Abstract: Several studies have investigated the effect of pilot age, flying hours, gender, pilot error and expertise on aviation crashes in the United States. However, to our knowledge, an interaction effect of pilot age and medical certificate class on Alaskan aviation accidents was not reported in these studies. In the present study, we compared 365 cases (pilots who had an accident in Alaska: fatal and/or non-fatal) with 10,520 controls (pilots without an accident).

The study indicated a significant association between having an accident and pilot medical certificate class, gender, age group and flying hours (hours flown in the last six months before their medical examination). Moreover, the interaction effect of age group and medical certificate class with having an accident was significant (Chi-Square 17.15; p 0.0007). Among pilots with a first-class medical certificate, the study found no significant association between having an accident and the factors studied. In contrast, among pilots with a second-class and third-class medical certificate, the study found a significant association between having an accident and these factors.

Aviation crashes in Alaska remain a major concern, and efforts should continue to identify potential risk factors to reduce the number of aviation accidents by promoting research and safety.

Key Words: Alaska, medical certificate class

No. of Pages: 18