January 2012 archive

Medical Incidents in Air: Cabin Crew reports…

Increase in volume of airline passenger traffic is leading to an increase in number of in-flight medical incidents [1, 2]. A large number of such incidents are, in fact, “identified, managed and documented by cabin crew without the involvement of medically trained persons” [3]. Common in-flight medical conditions are fainting or syncope (incidence 10-53.5%); gastrointestinal …

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NVG: Why the Neck Pains?

An informal query on a professional forum whether helicopter pilots suffer from neck pain while using NVG (1), a small group chose to share their thoughts and concerns. Eight of the respondents affirmed that they had discomfort or pain, including disc prolapse and pressure on the nerves as reported by one pilot each. However, there …

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Hire Av Med Specialists – DGCA. Are the Airlines Listening?

Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India in an Advisory Circular to all Indian operators of scheduled air transport services has recommended that they employ the services of Aviation Medicine Specialist. This has come as a fresh impetus on part of DGCA to prod the Airlines to ensure “effective maintenance and monitoring of health …

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Drunken Pilots, Unsafe Lives: Unfolding an Indian Story…

In a mockery to safety of fare paying passengers, couple of aircrew were found drunk while reporting for duty on new year eve. This included one first officer and three non-flying crew, employed by three of the private commercial airline companies in India [1].

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Airlines in Financial doldrums – Can Indian skies stay Safe?

After surveillance of airlines’ financial status, DGCA has surmised that poor financial outcome may affect the safety culture of the affected airlines [1].

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