Aeromedical certification reduces the chances that a pilot will experience a “medically related” event, according to a new study by researchers for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).1
A report on the study, published in the November issue of Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, said the review was intended to gauge “the value of aeromedical certification in reducing adverse medical outcomes.” The authors said their findings were especially important for pilots engaged in flight operations that do not require aeromedical certification.
The report said that about 0.5 percent of aircraft accidents, and 1.5 percent of fatal accidents, appear to involve medical issues.
“An age-old question is whether the … FAA’s aeromedical certification requirements significantly contribute to this low rate or whether medical issues in accidents would be almost nonexistent anyway,” the report said.
The researchers reasoned that one way of ev…
