Category: Aviation Medicine

An Honest Admission – Standing up for Yourself

This is the fifth part by Lyle Prouse At my sentencing, the judge offered to let all three of us remain free pending appeals, since this was the first time this law had ever been applied and there were many complex legal issues. The other two opted to remain free. I told the judge I …

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“Judge not, that ye be not judged (Matthew 7:1)”

This is the sixth part by Lyle Prouse …I just came across yours (post) in which you say I “hung the other pilots out to dry,” and “was responsible for their welfare,” ad nauseum. Arrogance and grandiosity often get in the way of fact checking before spouting off, and you provide a great example of …

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Bashing the Drunk!

Drunken pilot reporting for duty (1) may have made headlines, in turn setting various fora abuzz with strong public opinion ranging from strong action against the pilot to the need for a sympathetic view. Indeed, if one looks at this incidence from the perspective of aviation safety, the pilot, if he had gone unnoticed, was …

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Ah! Piloting in the arms of Bacchus

Drinking occasionally or regularly by the pilots, but restricting it to couple of small pegs, remains a matter of individual choice and social acceptance. But aviation safety and alcohol do not go together. In an interesting instance at Heathrow Airport, a Delta Airline pilot forgot what his destination was! His blood alcohol levels were found …

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Lost Sleep – Compromised Safety

One of the often neglected but vital predisposing physiological factors in aviation is sleep, rather lack of sleep. The commercial pilots are governed by their duty schedule and the military aviators have the uncertainties of the operational deployment to blame for the loss of sleep. Although there may be regulations and guidelines, including FDTL to …

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