Recent advances in sensing technology have the potential not only to open the flight deck to pilots with certain medical conditions but also to facilitate the use of single-pilot flight crews, according to a report issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).1
Sensors could be used to detect incapacitation, both in pilots with preexisting medical conditions and in those in single-pilot flight crews who encounter unexpected severe medical problems during flight, said the report, written by researchers from The MITRE Corporation and made public earlier this month by the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute.
In the near-term, because few sensors have been developed specifically for use in aviation, the aviation industry could adapt technologies already in use in other industries, the report said. As examples, the report cited the monitors and sensors used to help anesthesiologists determine whether a patient is unconscious and those used in the tr…
