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At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Work-related aviation fatalities in Colorado 1982-1987.

On-the-job deaths related to aviation are the seventh leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. In Colorado, they comprise 37% of all air transport deaths. A review of all occupational aviation-related fatalities in Colorado during 1982-1987 identified 86 deaths. Data sources were death certificates, Workers' Compensation records, and National Transportation Safety Board reports. Of the fatalities, 5 involved commercial air service, 16 were military personnel, and 65 (76%) were associated with general aviation. Non-military occupations included 21 pilots, 5 flight instructors, 4 crop sprayers, and 3 search and rescue workers or firefighters. There were 18 people going to or from work sites. The 15 weather cases, 7 aircraft malfunctions, and 4 power transmission wire strikes were the most significant factors in two-thirds of the crashes of civilian aircraft. Even experienced pilots exercised poor judgement. The prominence of general aviation in work-related aviation fatalities indicates a need for greater attention to the safety of workers whose jobs entail flying.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1978

U.S. fatal general aviation accidents due to cardiovascular incapacitation: 1974-75.

A study was undertaken to determine the relative impact of inflight cardiovascular incapacitation among general aviation pilots with respect to general aviation flight safety. During calendar years 1974-75, the National Transportation Safety Board reports reveal that 13 U.S. general aviation pilots died of cardiovascular incapacitation during flight. The analysis of these accidents will bear on any suggested changes in pilot medical screening procedures for cardiovascular disease, as well as on pilot safety education programs. Of the 13 cases noted above, nine pilots were flying alone. Of the remaining multiple occupant cases, the nonpilot wife of one deceased victim managed to land the aircraft. Eighteen deaths resulted from the inflight incapacitations. The ages of the pilots ranged from 33-68 years, with both a mean and a median of 52. Postmortem examinations revealed extensive coronary disease (atherosclerosis) in 12 cases (no pilot autopsy data is available in the case where the passenger landed the aircraft). Of these 12 cases, five demonstrated recent occlusions. In four more, evidence of old infarcts was revealed by the postmortem examination. It is concluded that these 13 inflight cardiovascular incapacitations, occurring among a total of 1,404 fatal general aviation accidents in the 1974-75 period, constitute such a small proportion (0.93%) of the documented fatal general aviation accidents that extensive additional cardiovascular screening procedures are not justified at present on cost/yield basis.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1995

Explanatory factors for the geographic distribution of U.S. civil aviation mortality.

BACKGROUND: State-specific aviation-related mortality rates differ substantially between various geographical regions of the United States. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to ascertain important explanatory factors that account for the geographical distribution of mortality. METHODS: National Center for Health Statistics sources were used to calculate state-specific, age-adjusted mortality rates. Fatalities studied were those attributed to select civil aviation-related causes (ICD-9 E-codes 840.2-.6, 841.2-.6, 842.2-.6) that occurred from 1979-89. State-specific information on a variety of selected variables was obtained from census, commerce, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sources. Multiple linear regression techniques were used to assess the relationship between selected variables and state-specific mortality rates. RESULTS: There were 13,048 deaths for a U.S. 11-year mean mortality rate of 4.9 deaths/1,000,000 general population. Mountainous states of the western U.S. had the highest 11-year mean mortality rates (range 8.6-79.6 deaths/1,000,000). Mid-Atlantic states had the lowest rates (range 1.6-2.9 deaths/1,000,000). Regression analysis identified pilot density (number of pilots per 1,000,000 general population), top elevation (highest point of land within state boundaries), and flight intensity (number of general aviation flight hours flown per pilot) as important factors in explaining 92% of state mortality differences. CONCLUSIONS: Highest aviation-related mortality rates are found in states with expanses of mountainous terrain, and relatively high pilot densities and flight activity levels.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1995

Aviators at risk.

Human error has been found to cause or contribute to most aviation accidents. Excess emotional stress may have an adverse effect on pilot performance and is known to increase the risk of an aircraft mishap. Family problems, social stressors, career instability, worry, aircraft accidents, and difficult flight schedules are a few of the many potential sources of emotional stress in aviation. Pilots who fail at stress coping may become depressed or even self-destructive. They may externalize their feelings, act out, or blame others for their misfortunes. The aviator at risk may demonstrate "warning signs" such as defensiveness, arrogance, hostility, financial irresponsibility, excesses in routine habits, fatigue, deteriorating pilot performance, or increased risk taking. The aeromedical practitioner's role is to educate aircrew members and help them understand stress and its effect on pilot performance. The time may come when an aviator is confronted by multiple stressors, and inadequate stress coping or failure on the part of the aviation community to recognize the "warning signs" may have disastrous results.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1995

Diabetes mellitus: rates and outcomes among U.S. Army aviators.

The U.S. Army Aviation Epidemiology Data Register (AEDR) was queried for Army aviators with the finding of glycosuria, hyperglycemia, impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes mellitus (DM), use of oral hypoglycemic agents, or use of insulin for the period 1988-92. The study tabulated the incidence and age-specific annual rates of DM, and tabulated the distribution and reasons for aeromedical dispositions of aircrew with DM. U.S. Army aeromedical planners can expect an incidence of 0.47 cases of DM per 1000 aviator-years per year. Aviators over 35 yr old were at the greatest risk. About 78% of the aviators with DM will be removed permanently from Army flying duties. This was due primarily to an inability to gain dietary control of their condition or the discovery of other significant medical conditions, such as coronary artery disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Alcohol and aviation.

Aviation accidents due to alcohol consumption by aircrew appear to be rare, especially in commercial aviation. However, a small proportion of general aviation accidents are attributable to alcohol use by aircrew, and aircrew are not well informed about the metabolism of alcohol and its effects on performance. Furthermore, there is evidence that aircrew performance may be impaired by alcohol consumption even after their Blood Alcohol Concentration has returned to "zero" (i.e. < 5 mg/dl). Accidents caused by impairment of aircrew performance by alcohol may therefore not be attributed to alcohol use at all. Aviation safety relies upon faultless human performance and is thus highly sensitive to alcohol-related impairment of performance. This paper provides a review of research regarding aircrew alcohol consumption, impairment of aircrew performance by alcohol, incidence of aviation accidents attributable to alcohol use by aircrew, and other related subjects.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1997

Alcohol policy and aviation safety.

Aviation provides an environment which is almost uniquely unforgiving of mistakes. Accordingly, impairment of aircrew performance by alcohol can, and occasionally does, lead to catastrophic mistakes. That such disasters are rare, is a credit to the responsibility of aircrew themselves and to the effectiveness of aviation industry policies. Similarly, maintenance of this exemplary record depends upon continued attention to alcohol policy in the future. The aviation industry thus provides a useful model for the study of alcohol policies within a safety critical environment. Surprisingly, this model appears not to have been subjected to critical research and evaluation. Based upon previous research on alcohol and aviation, and in consideration of findings from the wider field of alcohol policy, suggestions are made here as to a promising framework for future alcohol policy formation in the aviation environment.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Heliogeophysical factors and aviation accidents].

It was shown by two independent methods that there is a certain correlation between the number of aviation accidents and heliogeophysical factors. The statistical and spectral analyses of time series of heliogeomagnetic factors and the number of aviation accidents in 1989-1995 showed that, of 216 accidents, 58% are related to sudden geomagnetic storms. A similar relation was revealed for aviation catastrophes (64% out of 86 accidents) and emergencies (54% out of 130 accidents) that coincided in time with heliogeomagnetic storms. General periodicities of the series were revealed by the method of spectral analysis, namely, cycles of 30, 42, 46, 64, 74, 83, 99, 115, 143, 169, 339 days, which confirms the causative relation between the number of aviation accidents and heliogeomagnetic factors. It is assumed that some aviation accidents that coincided in time with geomagnetic storms, are due to changes in professional abilities of pilots that were in the zone of storms.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed2005

Characterization of microbial contamination in United States Air Force aviation fuel tanks.

Bacteria and fungi, isolated from United States Air Force (USAF) aviation fuel samples, were identified by gas chromatograph fatty acid methyl ester (GC-FAME) profiling and 16S or 18S rRNA gene sequencing. Thirty-six samples from 11 geographically separated USAF bases were collected. At each base, an above-ground storage tank, a refueling truck, and an aircraft wing tank were sampled at the lowest sample point, or sump, to investigate microbial diversity and dispersion within the fuel distribution chain. Twelve genera, including four Bacillus species and two Staphylococcus species, were isolated and identified. Bacillus licheniformis, the most prevalent organism isolated, was found at seven of the 11 bases. Of the organisms identified, Bacillus sp., Micrococcus luteus, Sphinogmonas sp., Staphylococcus sp., and the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans have previously been isolated from aviation fuel samples. The bacteria Pantoea ananatis, Arthrobacter sp., Alcaligenes sp., Kocuria rhizophilia, Leucobacter komagatae, Dietza sp., and the fungus Discophaerina fagi have not been previously reported in USAF aviation fuel. Only at two bases were the same organisms isolated from all three sample points in the fuel supply distribution chain. Isolation of previously undocumented organisms suggests either, changes in aviation fuel microbial community in response to changes in aviation fuel composition, additives and biocide use, or simply, improvements in isolation and identification techniques.

Aircraft↗
PubMed2004

Probability estimates for the unique childhood leukemia cluster in Fallon, Nevada, and risks near other U.S. Military aviation facilities.

A unique cluster of childhood leukemia has recently occurred around the city of Fallon in Churchill County, Nevada. From 1999 to 2001, 11 cases were diagnosed in this county of 23,982 people. Exposures related to a nearby naval air station such as jet fuel or an infectious agent carried by naval aviators have been hypothesized as potential causes. The possibility that the cluster could be attributed to chance was also considered. We used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) to examine the likelihood that chance could explain this cluster. We also used SEER and California Cancer Registry data to evaluate rates of childhood leukemia in other U.S. counties with military aviation facilities. The age-standardized rate ratio (RR) in Churchill County was 12.0 [95% confidence interval (CI), 6.0-21.4; p = 4.3 times symbol 10(-9)]. A cluster of this magnitude would be expected to occur in the United States by chance about once every 22,000 years. The age-standardized RR for the five cases diagnosed after the cluster was first reported was 11.2 (95% CI, 3.6-26.3). In contrast, the incidence rate was not increased in all other U.S. counties with military aviation bases (RR = 1.04; 95% CI, 0.97-1.12) or in the subset of rural counties with military aviation bases (RR = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.48-1.08). These findings suggest that the Churchill County cluster was unlikely due to chance, but no general increase in childhood leukemia was found in other U.S. counties with military aviation bases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Work and sleep hours of U.S. Army aviation personnel working reverse cycle.

A one-page questionnaire was administered to 157 aviation personnel from three Army posts to determine when Army aviation personnel work and sleep while on reverse cycle. This project was undertaken as a first step to developing tailor-made fatigue reduction strategies for shift workers in Army aviation. The results indicated that 97.6% of the surveyed aviation personnel had experience working night shift/reverse cycle at some point in their careers, with 69.4% working the night shift within the past 6 months. Of those who had experience working the night shift, 36.2% reported usually working from early in the afternoon to early in the morning, with 52.2% of personnel returning home by 4:00 a.m.; however, 28.3% arrived home after 8:00 a.m. Almost 62% of the respondents indicated that they did not feel they received adequate daytime sleep some of the time or at all while on reverse cycle/night shift. Research is needed to address the issue of helping aviation personnel sleep during the daylight hours, both for training exercises and for deployment. Once the work/rest schedule for a unit is known, countermeasures such as light therapy or gradual changes in scheduling can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the individual or unit.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The pigmentary dispersion disorder in USAF aviators.

The pigmentary dispersion syndrome (PDS) can have serious ocular consequences. Visual changes due to glaucoma and the treatment required can threaten the high level of visual function necessary in military aviation. We reviewed the records of 50 aviators with PDS who were evaluated at the Aeromedical Consultation Service (formerly the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine) over the past 10 years. At last evaluation, 48 were still qualified to fly. Only two aviators were permanently removed from flying duties due to glaucoma. Initial intraocular pressures, cup-to-disc ratios, and refractions were not statistically correlated with progression to glaucoma, but sample sizes were small. At final evaluation, 20 of the 34 aviators with follow-up had glaucoma and required medication. Thirteen eyes underwent laser trabeculoplasty. With appropriate management, the majority of aviators with PDS were able to safely continue their flying careers.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Brief reactive psychosis in naval aviation.

Five naval aviation personnel diagnosed with brief reactive psychosis (BRP) have appeared before the Special Board of Flight Surgeons (SBFS) at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute (NAMI). These cases demonstrate the challenges in diagnosis and disposition that face the clinical aeromedical specialist in evaluating the aviator who develops psychiatric symptoms. We discuss the aeromedical factors that must be considered when contemplating returning aviators with psychiatric diagnoses to flying duties. Sudden behavioral changes in aviation personnel require a systematic assessment, thorough documentation, and continuing reevaluation. The differentiation between organic and functional etiologies may be difficult. Final disposition may require consultation with experienced physicians skilled in both aviation psychiatry and neurology.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Adult children of alcoholics--a treatable entity: an aviation case report.

This is a case report of a male naval aviator, raised in an alcoholic environment, and the impact of that environment on his development and adult functioning. A review of the adult children of alcoholics syndrome is presented to help familiarize the reader with this evolving entity and its probable impact on aviation personnel. In the United States, current estimates indicate that parental alcoholism affects 27 million children. Only about 5% of these children are receiving any evaluation, supportive care, or treatment. This case of a naval aviator affected by this syndrome illustrates the need for its recognition and potential for treatment and modification of maladaptive behavior. As a treatment entity, recognition of the adult children of alcoholics syndrome will hopefully have a positive effect upon aviation safety and will help save a valuable national asset, our trained aviation personnel.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Baseline and comparative neuropsychological data on U.S. Army aviators.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery were administered to 15 Army aviators and 15 non-aviators, matched for age and education, to identify functional differences between these populations and to begin to establish norms for unimpaired Army aviators. Results were generally nondiscriminatory although Army aviators performed in the high average range on a number of variables. No clinical inferences were drawn from this limited data but utilization of the tests for obtaining normative group and individual baseline data, as well as assisting flight surgeons in assessing intellectual abilities of aviators, appears to have some merit.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Nathan Zuntz (1847-1920)--a German pioneer in high altitude physiology and aviation medicine, Part II: Scientific work.

For over 52 years, the work of Nathan Zuntz (1847-1920) covered an amazingly wide spectrum of research fields; metabolism, nutrition, respiration, blood gases, exercise, and high altitude physiology were the main themes. Zuntz achieved fame for his invention of the Zuntz-Geppert respiratory apparatus in 1886 and the first Laufband (treadmill) in 1889. To this experimental setup Zuntz later added an X-ray apparatus in 1914 to determine the changes in heart volume during exercise. Moreover, he constructed a climate chamber to study exercise under varying and sometimes extreme climates. For field studies Zuntz invented a transportable Gasuhr (dry gas measuring device). Zuntz was the first to describe the difference between laboratory data gained in a hypobaric chamber and the measurements at high altitude. He found that the barometric formula is not applicable in the field. Two balloon expeditions in 1902 by Zuntz and his pupil, v. Schroetter, marked the step from terrestrial physiology towards aviation medicine. An outline of the development of scientific aviation in Berlin from 1880-1918 elucidates how closely the aviation union, army, and scientific departments were connected with and dependent upon each other. In cooperation with these institutions Zuntz and v. Schroetter constructed an oxygen supply system and planned a pressure cabin for extreme altitudes above 10,000 m, a forerunner of modern systems in aviation and astronautics. In 1912, Zuntz and v. Schroetter each published papers on aviation medicine, both publications internationally unique in style and extent. Zuntz's work in its empirical approach was the counterpart to the established formal mathematical-physical reductionism of the German Physiological Society.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMed1993

Measuring performance decrements in aviation personnel infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

There is controversy over whether cognitive impairment occurs in early human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. When impairment is reported, findings are typically subclinical, affect only a minority, and their relationship to occupational functioning has not been established. Despite such findings, it has been recommended that HIV-seropositive pilots be disqualified from flying. This paper reviews research relevant to measuring performance decrements in HIV-infected aviators. Based upon current data, we conclude that although subtle neurobehavioral dysfunction may occur in some asymptomatic HIV-seropositive individuals, there is no research which has demonstrated associated decrements in aviation-related skills. Thus, it may be premature to recommend medical disqualification of all HIV-seropositive aviators. We propose, instead, that sensitive neurocognitive measures, incorporated into a comprehensive neurodiagnostic evaluation, could be used to evaluate asymptomatic HIV-seropositive aviators. Only those who are impaired on evaluation would be disqualified from flying. Concurrently, research investigating the relationship between abnormalities and aviation abilities would be conducted.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMed1997

Panic with a twist: an unusual presentation of combined psychiatric and neurologic symptoms in a tactical jet aviator.

A 28-yr-old Naval F-14 aviator presented with complaints of flight-related anxiety occurring intermittently over an 18-mo period. Symptoms included sensation of strangeness, concern over the welfare of his radar intercept officer, flushing, nausea, and intense need to immediately land the aircraft. He also described a 6-mo history of episodes wherein he would see "shooting stars" in the periphery of his vision, accompanied by dizziness and disorientation. These latter attacks were always precipitated by head turning, usually in combination with positive Gz maneuvers, and were relieved by head straightening. The anxiety symptoms were consistent with a form of panic attack, but the neurological symptoms provoked further workup. Magnetic resonance cerebral angiogram demonstrated a dominant right vertebral artery and hypoplastic left vertebral artery. All symptoms resolved once the aviator was removed from flying the aircraft. After a year of follow-up with an aviation psychiatrist, he remained asymptomatic and was reassigned to maritime patrol aircraft. This case illustrates a difficult diagnostic, therapeutic, and disposition challenge. This aviator suffered from a complex interaction of neurologic and psychiatric manifestations having a common inciting stimulus, namely flying the F-14 Tomcat. A promising aviation career was preserved upon removal of that stimulus.

Adult↗