A lot to lose

Blood will be drawn and analysed and urine will be checked for glucose levels and gremlins. Stripped down and stress-tested every conceivable aspect of the human condition is queried, measured and noted. Nothing is left to the imagination.

Even the fittest pilots can feel some trepidation as they sit in the waiting room, for a fail in any section of this test can mean being grounded.

Sometimes the privileges of the licence will be withdrawn in the short term, but there’s always a chance a licence can be cancelled and a career concluded. Most frustratingly, there are occasions when medical specialists vary in their interpretation of the medical data in front of them. As they debate the whys and wherefores of a particular case, the pilot can remain sidelined.

Despite the remote possibility of losing one’s licence, it is a spectre that looms large in the pilot’s mind and nudges those blood pressure points up just a touch further than normal. On the day of the medical examination, life itself can be a contributing factor. Rushing around, paying bills or finding a parking spot can add to the stress. Not to mention the fact that a doctor once screamed at me for placing ticks instead of crosses on the form! Stress is a part of life, but there are not too many professions where its physiological consequences are so closely scrutinised. In aviation, simple medical complaints can have a significant impact upon the ability to perform one’s duties. Even the list of allowable medications has to be read carefully to ensure compliance. In most day-to-day jobs, these issues wouldn’t even surface on the occupational radar, but aviation holds its people to a higher standard. For those who fly passengers about the skies have lives in their hands and unfortunately the human anatomy is a relatively unpredictable weak link.

This was demonstrated recently when a United Airlines 737 captain died after having a heart attack in flight. Undoubtedly this pilot’s health would have been monitored and examined to the required standard, but still the human body cannot be totally interpreted. The medical system may flag potential issues, but there will always be others lurking that can possibly slip through the net.

Like simulator sessions and flight checks, medical examinations are a routine necessary evil conducted in the interest of safety. Some pilots have the benefit of loss of licence insurance to offer a degree of peace of mind, while others go further and pay the spiralling premiums for income protection. Both provide a safety net, but the reality of being forced out of aviation at a relatively young age is a genuine concern for most pilots. Not only might an early retirement mean a parting of ways with a loved profession, but it raises the issue of what comes next.

The single-minded focus required to carve out an aviation career can leave a pilot ill-equipped for a career change. Additionally, the specialised skill-set of an aviator doesn’t translate particularly well into any other field and starting over later in life can present a significant challenge. To transfer to a ground-based position, undertake further studies or change fields entirely are just some of the options that can spin around inside the head of the individual. It is a world of confusion that can rain down that is often lost in the nuances of the medical jargon and at the mercy of experts beyond the aviation realm.

For those starry-eyed individuals set upon a career in aviation, they are best advised to undertake a full ATPL medical examination before they ever sit down for their final year of schooling. Forearmed with their medical status early enough the young recruit still has time to alter subject choices and change the focus of their career if need be. It is a case of knowing the earlier the better – before energies and incomes are poured into a career that can never take off.

At the end of the day, medical examinations are a requirement that will never go away. They are another way in which a pilot’s career is placed under the microscope at regular intervals and the cherished privilege to fly for a living is placed on the line. It has always been the way and if anything it may become even more rigorous as pilots continue to fly to an older age. That one’s health is examined so closely each year is good motivation to maintain a healthy lifestyle and that alone can provide benefits far beyond the cockpit.

For the vast majority of pilots past, present and future, medical issues will never be a significant problem. In reality, the routine screening provides an ideal platform for early detection of possible problems and ultimately better health outcomes. Far from concealing issues from their Designated Aviation Medical Examiner, aircrew are well advised to be completely transparent. Not only are such disclosures legally required, but in the greater scheme of things it is a very wise move.

For as passionate as one may be about a career in aviation, when medical matters are involved there is really a whole lot more to lose than a licence.