Aeromedical

The FAA says BasicMed is safe but it will continue to monitor its impact on GA. The agency sent a report to Congress on March 10 based on a study of aviation activity and accident data accumulated in the first three years after the relaxed medical standards for recreational pilots went into effect in January […]

A bipartisan group of senators is calling for the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots to be raised to 67 from 65. A similar bill was proposed by Sen. Lindsay Graham and other Republicans last year. This time Democrats Joe Manchin and Mark Kelly have joined the effort. The current proposal would require “rigorous medical […]

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is recommending a process be established to update pilot medical requirements following a 2021 crash that may have been related to the pilot suffering a heart attack. The board has issued a recommendation to Transport Canada to ensure the handbook for Civil Aviation Medical Examiners (CAME) “contains the most effective screening […]

The U.K.’s Air Accidents Investigations Branch says a flight instructor who died while acting as a safety pilot for another pilot had undetected disqualifying medical conditions. The other pilot thought it was all a joke. The 57-year-old instructor died while accompanying a pilot who wasn’t comfortable flying solo in the windy conditions at Blackpool Airport […]

A renowned show and warbird pilot is behind an experiment to see if a device normally used to enhance sleep can also keep pilots more alert while flying. Doug Rozendaal is working with doctors and researchers at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic to see if use of a bilevel positive airway […]

Airbus Helicopters reported it has recorded orders for more than 35 new single- and twin-engine Airbus air medical helicopters over the past 12 months. Romain Trapp, president of Airbus Helicopters, said, “We recognize that helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) providers rely on their helicopters to save lives, and we remain dedicated to providing them with state-of-the-art […]

“Old pilots tend to be a deaf bunch,” as one AME so bluntly called it. He would know. For me, the tough reality is sinking in that I too may someday join the ranks of the hearing impaired—wrong in expecting that growing old would take longer.  So when reader and hearing-aid candidate Thomas Folk reached […]

The head of Australia’s largest pilot’s group says a BasicMed type medical certification system may be among reforms being considered after recent meetings with top government officials. A self-certification system like that available to U.S. private pilots is at the top of AOPA Australia’s wish list for regulatory reform. CEO Ben Morgan told Australian Flying […]

Finding out the status of a flight medical is a click away under a new online feature announced by the FAA on Wednesday. The agency says pilots can now follow the progress of their medical through the system on the MedXPress website. Previously, pilots who wanted to check on their application had to call the […]

A Learjet 35A crashed at Gillespie Field (KSEE) in El Cajon, California, around 7:15 local time Monday night (Dec. 27) while executing an overhead visual approach from the north to Runway 27R. The pilot had canceled his IFR clearance after flying a GPS instrument approach to Runway 17. ATC recordings reveal the pilot requesting the […]