Aeromedical

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has approved a bill that would force the FAA to follow the formal rulemaking process in adopting a controversial new sleep apnea detection initiative, It’s the first legislative step to slow down implementation of a policy introduced by Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton in his November newsletter to […]

Letter of the Week:A Technological Solution to a Human Problem? I have several thoughts about the sudden concern by the FAA over sleep apnea in pilots and controllers. The NTSB Safety Recommendation was issued August 7, 2009. Why has it taken more than four years for the FAA to jerk its knee in response? Has […]

The U.S. House of Representatives has created a bill that would require the FAA to open a public comment period and apply normal rulemaking procedures before imposing new policy regarding pilot girth, medical testing, and sleep apnea. AOPA and EAA reacted to the announced policy with strongly worded letters demanding that it be suspended. They […]

Dr. Brent Blue is a senior FAA air medical examiner from Wyoming who says the new policy on sleep apnea announced by Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton is “one of the craziest things to come out of the FAA in many years.” AVweb’s Russ Niles spoke with him. Duration: File Size: download here

EAA (link) and AOPA (PDF) each wrote strongly worded letters to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta “demanding” that a new policy regarding sleep apnea in pilots and controllers be suspended (and ultimately killed) because it addresses a problem that hasn’t been proven to exist, exceeds the Federal Flight Surgeon’s mandate and could cost the pilot community […]

The FAA is showing no signs of backing off a controversial new policy to detect and treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). As we reported in an exclusive story on Monday, Federal Flight Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton is ordering Aviation Medical Examiners to automatically refer pilots (and at some point in the future, controllers) with a […]

Pilots and controllers who may be obese will have an extra hoop to jump for their medical certification to ensure they don’t have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton has notified(PDF) Air Medical Examiners (AMEs) that they will soon be required to measure the body mass index (BMI)of all pilots and […]

The FAA is sending a letter and fact sheet to all U.S. pilots to make them aware of the potentially negative effects that certain types of common over-the-counter and prescription drugs could have on the safety of flight. Specifically, the FAA notes the “sedative effects” caused by “many medications” and the ability of some medications […]

Healthy GA pilot volunteers are needed this year at AirVenture for computer-administered confidential testing to help the FAA determine when previously injured pilots are safe to return to flying. The FAA requires cognitive screening tests to help determine when a pilot who has suffered a stroke, head, or brain injury can be considered safe to […]

A cargo pilot whose behavior last December while flying a Cessna 210 out of Greensboro for Tampa International Airport prompted authorities to scramble fighters and (later) a blood alcohol test has entered treatment, his lawyer said Wednesday. The blood of pilot Phillip Yves Lavoie, 28, showed an alcohol content of 0.27 percent in a test […]