United States Department of Transportation
i
Comparison of Pilot Medical History and Medications Found in Postmortem Specimens
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2006-05-01
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[PDF-312.95 KB]
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Edition:Final Report
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Abstract:Pilots are required by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations to report all medications and medical conditions to the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine for review and consideration as to the overall suitability of the pilot for flight activities. Following a fatal aviation accident, specimens from deceased pilots are collected by local pathologists and sent to the Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory for toxicological analysis. The results of such tests are entered into the Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Forensic Case Management System. This database was searched to identify all pilots found positive for medications used to treat cardiovascular, psychological, or neurological conditions over the period January 1, 1993, through December 31, 2003. These medical conditions were selected because of their potential to rapidly incapacitate a pilot in-flight. It is important to note that some of the medications found may have been administered by health care workers as a part of emergency medical treatment after the accident. The laboratory conducted toxicological evaluations on 4,143 pilots during the study period. Psychotropic drugs were found in 223 pilots (5%). Cardiovascular medications were found in 149 pilots (4%). Neurological medications were found in 15 cases (0.4%). Pilots reported psychological conditions in 14 of the 223 pilots found positive for psychotropic drugs. Only 1 of the 14 pilots reporting a psychological condition on their medical application reported the psychotropic medication found after the accident.
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