Korean J Aerosp Environ Med.
2017 Apr;27(1):1-4.
Aeromedical Examination of Rotary Wing Pilots-A Forgotten Class 1: Retrospective Analysis of an Annual Records of 2015
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Korea
- 2Department of Computor Software, Korean Bible University, Seoul, Korea
- 3NaEun Hospital, Incheon, Korea
- 4Aeromedical Center of Korean Air, Seoul, Korea
- 5Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Inha University Hospital, Incheon, Korea
- 6Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
- 7Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University Hospital and School of Medicine, Korea
- 8Department of Ophthalmology, Inha University Hospital, Incheon, Korea
- 9Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
- 10Department of Internal Medicine, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Abstract
- The medical certification for pilots is required by the aviation safety authority in most countries based with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendation. In this study, medical data of the year of 2015 for the Korean rotary-wing pilot population, including examination findings and reasons of unfitness were reviewed by retrospective analysis. Among the total 591 cases, 64 (10.8%) were determined to be conditioned fit as a consequence of abnormal findings. Three (0.5%) were denied certification as unfit. Hearing loss (32.8%) was the most common cause of disqualification differing from that of fixed-wing pilots. It is not surprising data in that helicopter is notorious for its noise and vibration when flying compared with fixed-wing aircraft. Hypertension (23.9%) and diabetes (9%) were following causes. There was an increasing variation in medical unfitness as pilots' age and total flight time are increased respectively. Rate of the conditioned fit tends to be significantly increasing the age of 55 or more or the flight time of 5,000 hours. These results suggest that aeromedical decision should be made under understanding of the influence of age, total flight time and aircraft type flight environment to ensure flight safety.
