Medical Incapacitation im Cockpit - Inzidenz, Ursachen und Folgen

Die „Medical Incapacitation” von Piloten ist ein seltenes, wenngleich schwerwiegendes und alarmierendes Phänomen. Bisher wurden 21 Studien mit direktem Bezug zur „Medical Incapacitation” für die Luftfahrtbereiche Linienflugbetrieb, Militärflugbetrieb und allgemeine Luftfahrt publiziert. Die häufigste Ursache einer „Medical Incapacitation” scheinen kardiovaskuläre Faktoren zu sein. Die Inzidenz wird für die verschiedenen Bereiche sehr unterschiedlich dargestellt. Der weitaus größte limitierende Faktor sind bei nahezu allen Studien fehlende oder invalide Bezugsgrößen, etwa die Anzahl der Flugstunden. Zukünftig müssen große internationale Studien durchgeführt werden, welche die erforderlichen Bezugsgrößen definieren und mit erfassen.

„Medical Incapacitation” (MI) of pilots is a rare but serious and alarming phenomenon. Today, a total of 21 studies are published analyzing the phenomenon MI in commercial, military, and general aviation. The most probable cause for MI is cardiovascular disease. The incidence is rather inhomogeneous for all analyzed aviation areas. The most compromising and limiting factor in almost all studies is the lack of denominator data (e. g. cumulative flight hours). For future international research, definition and collection of valid denominator data is essential.

Key words

„Medical Incapacitation” - disease - impairment - aviation accidents - risk analysis

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