Business aircraft operators sometimes struggle to recognize valid signs that a well-regarded pilot has become unfit for duty, and to make a timely, safety-focused decision to intervene appropriately, says Quay Snyder, M.D. The crux of the issue for many companies is their lack of what he calls a carefully designed fitness for duty program. Recalling pilots and companies that have worked with him in his role as CEO of Aviation Medicine Advisory Service, he says one reason for the absence of such planning has been the lack of relevant, practical guidance in the United States.
Discussions about fitness for duty of pilots in the business aviation segment, as recently as a year ago, dwelled on anecdotes about aging pilots, Snyder said. But that orientation has proved less valuable from a flight operations perspective than current discussions about any individual who has become or might become a failing aviator, a term gaining traction in the business aviation and aviation…
