Premium on Safety - Issue 23, 2016 - 1

PREMIUM ON SAFETY
ISSUE 23 YEAR 2016

IN THIS ISSUE

Lessons Learned: A Landing 03
That Finished in a Snowbank
Mayo Clinic's ProPilot Program New 03
Benefit in USAIG's Performance
Vector Safety Initiative
ASI Message: 05
Entering The Red Zone
Safety Spotlight: 06
An Ongoing Decline
Did You Know? 08
Blinded in a Flash

A MESSAGE FROM USAIG
Greetings! If you work in aviation and
haven't read the National Business Aviation
Association's short September 2016 report
relating its findings on non-compliance with
pretakeoff flight control checks, it's worth 20
minutes to remedy that. Beyond the central
implication that nearly 18 percent of business
aviation flight crews aren't performing
preflight checklists properly or at all, the
report got me thinking down a number of
other vectors. If you've wondered what FOQA
data could show you, it offers an example. To
those casually confident that aviation's trend
is always toward "safer" it might give pause.
If you've seen the many published stories
about the tragic accident that triggered this
study and thought, "we've certainly taken that
lesson to heart and closed that vulnerability,"
it makes you wonder. Is your operation
compliant and watchful for any drift away from
standards? Read the NBAA's report here or
visit NBAA.org/ops and click on the Safety
section. Fly smart and fly safe.

Speaking in Medical Terms

Bridging the Language Gap in
Aeromedical Certification BY CLAYTON T. COWL, MD
Although acronyms are common in
aviation circles, some abbreviations are
unique to the medical certification environment. It's important for pilots and flight
department managers to understand the
language of the aeromedical environment
in order to avoid misunderstandings, confusion, or increased angst in what can be
viewed as an already stressful encounter
during an FAA flight physical.

AME is designated by the FAA through a
regional flight surgeon in the area where
the examiner practices. After a thorough
review of the examiner's credentials, it
is confirmed that there is a need for an
examiner within a certain geographic
area based upon exam volumes and
the availability of other AMEs within the
same community. AMEs must attend a
one-week training course at the FAA's

If a pilot is diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea for
which he or she is treated with CPAP, simply providing
a data download from the CPAP device demonstrating
adequate overall compliance allows the AME to issue
a time-limited medical certificate during the evaluation
rather than delay certification by placing it in a deferred

Paul Ratté
Director of Aviation Safety Programs, USAIG

status and mailing the information to the FAA for review.
Here are a few examples of abbreviations used commonly by aviation medical
examiners and staff at the FAA Aerospace
Medical Certification Division.
AME-Refers to an Aviation Medical
Examiner, who is the flight physician performing medical certification exams. An

Civil Aerospace Medical Institute in
Oklahoma City and maintain proficiency
by attending educational courses and
undergoing audits of their performance
annually. AMEs may serve in this capacity
throughout their entire career as long as
they maintain their credentials and meet
(continued on page 2)
https://www.nbaa.org/ops/safety/flight-control-checks/nbaa-report-business-aviation-compliance-with-manufacturer-required-flight-control-checks-before-takeoff.pdf http://www.NBAA.org/ops
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Premium on Safety - Issue 23, 2016
