Pilots must have a medical licence to fly but most airlines do not discriminate against the physically challenged. PHOTO | FILE
By Daniel Ondieki
In February this year while coming in to land, a
pilot’s prosthetic arm became detached from the control yoke in windy
conditions. The captain quickly grabbed the yoke with his right hand and
was able to land safely. The passengers were likely not aware that
anything untoward had happened.
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That would have been the end of the issue, but the Flybe pilot wrote a voluntary report to the regulator about the mishap.
A compilation of such incidents was released this
month and in a matter of days, the incident had graced headlines around
the world. To be fair most people and actually many pilots are not aware
that you can continue flying with one arm.
Pilot’s must have a medical licence to be able to
exercise the privileges of their licence. There are many conditions that
will disqualify someone from flying permanently such as a psychotic
mental illness. However a commercial or airline pilot is not expected to
be as fit as an astronaut.
Consequently there are protocols to allow people to
continue flying after being diagnosed with illnesses such hypertension
or diabetes. It would be very expensive to replace every pilot with a
chronic disease.
Similarly there are protocols in place to allow
people with disabilities to obtain medical licences. In past world wars
people who had lost various limbs in battle could still fly due to the
shortage of pilots.
Boards
Aeromedical boards within the civil aviation
authorities determine if individuals who have lost various limbs can
still fly safely.
Of course anyone missing any body parts will have
some reduced function. I’m not sure how the pilot in question was able
to operate the various switches which are mounted on the yoke.
Whichever workarounds he uses, he was most likely
put through a very rigorous testing processes before being issued with a
licence. This would likely have involved a flight in a simulator with
various emergencies to test how he would cope.
A friend in flying school once fainted in the
institution’s cafeteria and it took nine months of literally ruling out
every differential diagnosis in the book and several medical tests
before he was allowed to fly again. It is very difficult to regain a
lost medical licence.
Most people have also wondered where the first
officer was at this time. Assisting a fellow pilot by moving his
controls for him is a really annoying habit especially when it is not
warranted.
Jittery captains may do this because at the end of
the day ultimate responsibility lies with them. First officers on the
other hand rarely do it unless the situation is really dire and in this
case there was insufficient time to take over.
Everyone came out of that incident looking good: a
pilot who wrote a voluntary safety report and a regulator that has
fostered a culture that flight crew trust.
Dr Ondieki is a pilot with an international airline
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