Heritage

ONDIEKI: Airline comes through with flying colours in equal opportunities test

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Pilots must have a medical licence to fly but most airlines do not discriminate against the physically challenged. PHOTO | FILE

In February this year while coming in to land, a pilot’s prosthetic arm became detached from the control yoke in windy conditions. The captain quickly grabbed the yoke with his right hand and was able to land safely. The passengers were likely not aware that anything untoward had happened.

That would have been the end of the issue, but the Flybe pilot wrote a voluntary report to the regulator about the mishap.

A compilation of such incidents was released this month and in a matter of days, the incident had graced headlines around the world. To be fair most people and actually many pilots are not aware that you can continue flying with one arm.

Pilot’s must have a medical licence to be able to exercise the privileges of their licence. There are many conditions that will disqualify someone from flying permanently such as a psychotic mental illness. However a commercial or airline pilot is not expected to be as fit as an astronaut.

Consequently there are protocols to allow people to continue flying after being diagnosed with illnesses such hypertension or diabetes. It would be very expensive to replace every pilot with a chronic disease.

Similarly there are protocols in place to allow people with disabilities to obtain medical licences. In past world wars people who had lost various limbs in battle could still fly due to the shortage of pilots.

Boards

Aeromedical boards within the civil aviation authorities determine if individuals who have lost various limbs can still fly safely.

Of course anyone missing any body parts will have some reduced function. I’m not sure how the pilot in question was able to operate the various switches which are mounted on the yoke.

Whichever workarounds he uses, he was most likely put through a very rigorous testing processes before being issued with a licence. This would likely have involved a flight in a simulator with various emergencies to test how he would cope.

A friend in flying school once fainted in the institution’s cafeteria and it took nine months of literally ruling out every differential diagnosis in the book and several medical tests before he was allowed to fly again. It is very difficult to regain a lost medical licence.

Most people have also wondered where the first officer was at this time. Assisting a fellow pilot by moving his controls for him is a really annoying habit especially when it is not warranted.

Jittery captains may do this because at the end of the day ultimate responsibility lies with them. First officers on the other hand rarely do it unless the situation is really dire and in this case there was insufficient time to take over.

Everyone came out of that incident looking good: a pilot who wrote a voluntary safety report and a regulator that has fostered a culture that flight crew trust.

Dr Ondieki is a pilot with an international airline