FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-21/28

Title and Subtitle: Incapacitation Data Registry Evolution

Report Date: September 2021

Authors: Larcher J, DeJohn CA

Abstract:
Background.Before 1996, information regarding U.S. pilot medical incapacitations was scarce. Because these types of events were rare, they were not systematically tracked. The National Transportation Safety Board seldom investigated these events unless there was a pilot fatality; however, if the pilot was identified and the information provided, the medical status of the pilot would be evaluated by the Federal Aviation Administration. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) Incapacitation Data Registry (IDR) from initial concept through final design, including modifications and its use in applied research.

Methods.This paper describes the development and employment of the IDR as a valuable research tool. The CAMI IDR cases include only inflight medical incapacitations and impairments of pilots. Inflight medical incapacitation was defined as a condition in which a flight crew member could not perform any flight duties, and impairment was defined as a condition in which a crewmember could perform limited flight duties, even though performance may have been degraded. The IDR is uniquely capable of capturing the operational and medical details of flight deck crew events in real-time, making it exceptionally suited for the FAA to use in its mission of improving aviation safety.

Discussion.The IDR currently contains over 1,100 events with related medical and operational details. Individual cases are numbered sequentially, irrespective of the event date, for the protection of personally identifiable information. They are classified by medical category, pilot certification, medical certification, type of operation, safety-of-flight impact, cockpit sequence-of-event information, and Aerospace Medical Certification Division outcome. The IDR is intended to be used for research to investigate similarities and differences in pilot incapacitation events, to assist in devising strategies to reduce their likelihood of occurrence.

Key Words: Incapacitation, impairment, aviation, aviation safety, medications, alcohol, pilots, laser strike, inflight, medical events

No. of Pages: 40