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Aviation medical reg's.

D

demorier

Charter Member
Although I voluntarily took myself out of the left seat of aeroplanes years ago because of a hereditary blood pressure problem I still get sent the australian aviation safety magazine bi-monthly.

In the latest magazine is an article about flight crew in the air after a run in with a nasty illness....things like fainting, strokes and such.

One of the CASR's states "...requires a class 1 medical certificate holder to notify CASA or a DAME about any medically-significant condition that continues for more than 7 days......"

The term "medically-significant" in the regulation I find is very ambiguous....how does one define medically-significant ????
 
That's a good question. Sounds like typical bureaucratic lingo that they can mold around whatever they see fit. That's about how it's worded in the states too.

My interpretation is that it would be something that requires the attention of a medical doctor, even if it is a short-term thing like a real bad flu bug, pneumonia, etc. Something like that could incapacitate someone, and even if it's just a momentary thing...if it was at the wrong moment (like on short final) that could be a very bad situation.
Otherwise... heart condition, diabetes, any type of condition that might cause a seizure, etc???
 
I don't understand why people worry about the bureaucratic issues... if it's safety related, it's time to get the head out of a dark place. Hmmmm.. would we have to consider the application of common sense?

Most "cold remedies" have a warning about use longer than 3-5 days (****?), food poisoning (too many stories), ear infections affect balance, sinus infections can affect vision, bronchial problems that lead to severe coughing (nice during the flare!), even strained or inflamed muscles/tendons that might affect handling the controls. Even flight at 8 or 9000 ft can be difficult for someone with a respiratory problem.

The essence of the rule is that the individual take some responsibility before the accident investigation team needs to be called in ... but I guess, for some, it's more important to get the paycheck, if you and the pax make it to the bank.

To see how many things impact a pilot, try the Flight Safety Foundation's Human Factors newsletter:
http://flightsafety.org/hfam_home.html

If you don't want the full picture, here's one that will show how little things add up... allergies and medication
http://flightsafety.org/hf/hf_sept-oct01.pdf

Rob
 
In this context, "medically significant" applies to any condition that can have negative impact on flying safety, mission completion, or aircrew health, methinks. Regulations, instructions, etc. specify many, but much is left to aircrew integrity and judgement as to when something is "medically significant".
 
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