Abstract
From observations of 28 pilots and three co-pilots, aged 17 - 17-51 years, over a 15-year period, the following conclusions are drawn with regard to the issuing of a medical certificate of fitness to fly: The certificate should only be issued after a thorough anamnestic and clinical examination. Supplementary data to be obtained from the family doctor, from air traffic control and from the pilots' association would be useful. The two-year interval between examinations for the third-degree certificate of fitness is too long for an adequate prognosis of disorders impairing fitness to fly, especially those involving the cardiovascular system. From the age of 20, this interval should be shortened to one year. A search for metabolic coronary risk factors in younger pilots with an unfavorable anamnesis (heavy smoking, familial predisposition) and in pilots over 40 is indispensable. A chest X-ray, if possible with intensifying screen and a search for calcium shadows is necessary for pilots over 20 at intervals of 2 years at most. All pilots over 20 should undergo ECG examination, at rest and particularly also after standardized exhausting effort. The squatting effort test although still widely used should be rejected as long obsolete.
| Translated title of the contribution | Accident prevention of planes seen from the standpoint of forensic medicine |
|---|---|
| Original language | German |
| Pages (from-to) | 840-846 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Medizinische Welt |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 23 |
| State | Published - 1982 |
| Externally published | Yes |