Not that I know of at the moment. What I'm sort of looking for in the course of a few weeks they go from fully qualified, to something's a little off, to being tested, to standing in front of the hanger watching his former squadron take off
High or low blood pressure will disqualify a pilot from fighter planes but not from commercial planes (though highly variable blood pressure will disqualify a pilot from both).
That's very attractive but I have one question: what condition that would cause either could develop in a couple of months?
I can see a case of, say, borderline hypertension climbing above the threshold; it's a common enough occurrence as (mostly) men age. But something that was completely absent from the previous flight physical?
How far apart are the flight physicals? Hyperthyroidism can develop suddenly and while it's treatable (usually with medication, sometimes with radiation) the physical side-effects don't tend to go away completely. Previously undiagnosed Graves Disease might lead to this - symptoms can be extremely minor until exacerbated by a minor illness or stress. It's more common in women than men, but still the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in men.
That could work. Question: the article suggests incidence increases substantially after age forty. This person is no older that thirty five, and possibly as young as thirty. (They're obviously in good physical shape and have no other medical issues.) Searching "age" + "epidemiology of Graves' Disease" produces no useful information.
(I'm already close to the acceptable limit for long chains of statistically improbable events.)
When I was on the UK equivalent of AFROTC in the late 1980s, one of our flying instructors was on long-term limited flying duties because of high blood cholesterol; apparently this can arise through various causes, not just poor diet (the chap in question certainly wasn't obese).
...which is really frustrating if you're a pilot grounded (or limited) by this, as it's not just a case of giving up your daily Full English Breakfast in favour of muesli - you have to hope that medication works (although doctors being doctors, they'll probably tell you to lay off the morning fry-up anyway.)
... and with good cause, since statins have a huge list of side effects. If you are among the people who can control it with diet (and this is a statistical number - it might make 30% to you, while it might change zilch for another person), that is something to consider IMO.
Comments 12
Reply
Reply
Reply
I can see a case of, say, borderline hypertension climbing above the threshold; it's a common enough occurrence as (mostly) men age. But something that was completely absent from the previous flight physical?
Reply
Reply
Once a year, until I find evidence otherwise
> ... Graves' Disease ...
That could work. Question: the article suggests incidence increases substantially after age forty. This person is no older that thirty five, and possibly as young as thirty. (They're obviously in good physical shape and have no other medical issues.) Searching "age" + "epidemiology of Graves' Disease" produces no useful information.
(I'm already close to the acceptable limit for long chains of statistically improbable events.)
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment