Category: Occupational Health

COVID-19 – Stranded Pilots

COVID-19 pandemic has forced the closure of national and state borders, in turn bringing the commercial flights to a near halt. This has resulted in a countless number of pilots being grounded. Many airlines under severe financial constraints have either laid off or sent their staff on unpaid leave. This has resulted in each affected …

Continue reading

There is LASER in my eye!

There is a spurt in the incidence of Laser devices aimed at aircraft during low level flying or while making an approach to land [1, 2]. Despite punitive actions against culprits, including sentence up to 10 years in Germany or 20 years in US, it shows no signs of abating [2, 3, 4]. Those shining …

Continue reading

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 …

Continue reading

NVG: Pain in the Neck!

Use of Night Vision Goggle (NVG) amongst helicopter aircrew is becoming a matter of concern [1]. On one hand, the pain in the neck is reportedly 29% amongst Australian helicopter aircrew [2], while it peaks to more than 90% Canadian Forces helicopter pilots with more than 150 hours of NVG flight [3]. Other likely causes …

Continue reading

An Appeal for Safe Flying : BALPA on Tired Pilots