Flight Safety Foundation Human Factors & Aviation Medicine 1995

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November–December 1995

U.S. Considers Authorizing Pilot Medical Certification for Insulin-taking Diabetics 4 pages. [PDF 29K]

Diabetes mellitus, a disorder of the body’s blood sugar regulation system, is treatable. The U.S. FAA is reconsidering its regulation denying medical certification to pilots who require insulin treatment.

September–October 1995

Cockpit Crew Members Can Overcome Common Eye Problems 4 pages. [PDF 33K]

Irregularities in the eye often hamper correct focusing, but corrective lenses can compensate for most typical eye problems.

July–August 1995

The Human Balance System: A Refresher for Pilots 4 pages. [PDF 48K]

Understanding how the body’s position-sensing systems function is critical to safe instrument and noninstrument flight.

May–June 1995

‘Exercise-Lite’ Enables Aviators to Reap the Benefits of Physical Activity 4 pages. [PDF 30K]

Regular sessions of aerobic exercise are still strongly recommended. But when such a program is impractical, considerable benefit can be derived from everyday activities such as bicycling, stretching, walking and even climbing stairs.

March–April 1995

Preoccupation and Distraction of Pilot Identified in Delayed Recognition of Lost-communication Events 4 pages. [PDF 33K]

Approach and landing phases of flight accounted for the largest percentage of incidents, and low time in type correlated with a higher number of occurrences.

January–February 1995

New Regulation Gives U.S. Air Surgeon Broader Authority in Determining What Drugs and Treatment Are Cause for Medical Denial 4 pages. [PDF 29K]

Pilots must also be cautious in their use of more than 300,000 over-the-counter medicines, some of which can impair a pilot’s ability to conduct flight operations safely.