Plane Answers: Inflight medical emergencies, tips for pilots and fifty years of jet transcons

by Kent Wien on

Welcome to Gadling’s feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

John asks about medical emergencies:

What do you do in case of medical emergency during mid flight? If for example, a person has too much anxiety and can’t calm themselves down, or has a medical issue like heart attack, etc. What do you do in those cases and have you ever experienced those personally?

This is, by far, our most common type of emergency. As soon as we’re alerted to any passenger medical situation, the pilots will determine if it’s serious enough to arrange for a phone patch through our dispatch to a network of doctors the airline pays to be available 24/7 that help us determine if a diversion is necessary. The final call always lies with the captain, though.

At the same time, the flight attendant may make an announcement looking for any medical doctors, nurses or EMT’s on board. If we’re unable to get a hold of a doctor on call or a medical professional on board, or if the problem is serious enough, we’ll immediately divert into the nearest suitable airport.

I’ve had a few near medical diversions, but after consulting with physicians, we continued on to our destination where paramedics will met us. The cases I’ve been involved with have usually been anxiety related.

And on a lighter note, Cassandra asks:

Hi Kent! Galley Gossip triggered a memory from back in 1987 the day before Thanksgiving. I was flying home from college in Tampa, Florida to NY for the holiday and while the reason is hazy, our stewardess had mentioned that it was the captain’s birthday that day.
Another woman next to me came up with the idea to make the captain a birthday card…out of the air-sick bag.

She whipped out crayons and color pens she had on her and we proceeded to make an actual card by opening up the side and the bottom. We colored and designed the entire bag on both sides and put our names and our seat locations and gave it to him as we left the plane wishing him a happy birthday. It took nearly the 2 1/2 hour trip time to finish it.

So, based on that, has any passengers ever given you any sort of impulsive gift or cards for birthday, holiday, good flight, etc?

Cassandra, I think that’d be a great trend to start – of course, I might be biased. But what a nice gesture you two made.

My only gift was years ago when I was flying a small commuter between Long Island, NY and Atlantic City, the co-pilot and I once received a $20 tip each.

We had been flying ten to fifteen high stakes gamblers at a time back and forth for months. They would often talk about their $10,000+ losses, while we were living just below the New York state poverty level at the time. The tip was much appreciated, and I found out later that the generous passenger was the founder of Butler Aviation, a full service FBO that provides fuel and maintenance to corporate aircraft around the country. So obviously, he was aware of our plight.

Of course, kids often give us their works of art, which usually involve an airplane with smiling faces in the windows. I take those home to share with my 6 year-old daughter, who’s become somewhat of an art critic, specializing in that genre.

And then there was the time last year when two flight attendants scrounged up a cake in London and managed to carry it with them to present to me on the flight home. They even dared to sing happy birthday, for which I shall now repay them by posting the video here.

Something tells me there might not be anyone brave enough to sing on my next birthday!

50 Years of Jet Transcontinental Flying

I always enjoy hearing about the earlier days of flying from some of our most senior flight attendants. But I may have found the most authoritative source on ’50s airline life yet.

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the first jet transcontinental flight. American Airlines introduced their Boeing 707 Flagship Jet that was now capable of the 2,400 mile flight non-stop, and Argie Hoskins was one of the flight attendants chosen to make that first trip which cut hours from the piston-engine flights connecting Los Angeles to New York.

She includes some videos about the flight, and gives a rundown of the passenger manifest and some of her training experiences and flying mishaps that happened prior to that history making flight.
Take a look at her enjoyable blog American Airlines Stewardess and step back to a time when flight attendants were asked to memorize the names of all the passengers aboard a 50 seat Convair staffed with just one ‘stewardess.’ She also has a bunch of pictures from the same era that modern day flight attendants would really appreciate.

Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and maybe he’ll use it for next Monday’s Plane Answers. Check out his other blog, Cockpit Chronicles and travel along with him at work.

More people traveling to Malaysia to go under the knife

by Josh Lew on

One type of tourism has managed to thrive despite the poor global economy. The prevalence of medical tourism is on the rise in countries like India and Malaysia.

Think that it is a little extreme to go under the knife abroad? Consider this: depending on the procedure, surgery in Malaysia can cost half of what it does in the US or UK. Many doctors in Malaysia are foreign trained and facilities are world-class. The rate of patient infection at clinics and hospitals in Malaysia is much less than it is in the UK.

Last year 341,288 foreign patients came to Malaysia for its medical services. Projections show a 30% increase each year over the next several years.

Who are these medical refugees? People without insurance, people whose insurance won’t cover a procedure, or those who want surgery for cosmetic purposes. In countries with socialized medical care, the wait list can be several years long. In Malaysia, minor surgery can be arranged and performed in a day or two. If health care costs in the west continue to rise, look for Malaysia’s medical tourism industry to grow with it.

[Related story]

Plane Answers: Medical issues for pilots and the FAA

by Kent Wien on

Welcome to Gadling’s feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Tom asks an interesting question:

Hi Kent,

I am a big fan of your website and your weekly additions here. Great stuff. But my true question comes down to this. I had a seizure two weeks ago and they did all the testing and EEG and MRI and CT scans and blood work and all came back negative. They are thinking that it was once in a lifetime type of thing. So I started wondering will I be able to still receive my First class medical if I have no seizures and I am on no medications and the doctors told me I am fine?

Hi Tom,

I checked with my AME (Aviation Medical Examiner) and he pointed me to this document from the FAA. It seems the FAA will look at your specific case and after you submit all pertinent medical records and a current status report, they’ll render a decision.

Good luck! I’d love to hear what you find out.

Steve asks:

I’ve been told that I’m red/green colorblind. Will this disqualify me for an FAA medical? Would I even be able to fly private aircraft just for fun?

Hi Steve,

In the U.S., apparently 8% of males have some sort of color deficiency. That percentage drops to just .04% of females.

Most have Deuteranomaly, which occurs in 5% of males. It’s more commonly known as the red/green color confusion.

Only .0005% of the population is totally color blind.

Most people won’t even realize they’re color blind until they try to get an FAA medical. If they can’t read the numbers in the color blind test, they’re given a restriction on their medical that says, NOT VALID FOR NIGHT FLYING OR BY COLOR SIGNAL CONTROL.

Take a look at this picture. What number do you see?

With normal color vision, you’ll see a five and If you’re red/green color blind, you’ll see a two. Of course, different monitors may affect the test, so you’ll want to be tested by an eye doctor to be sure.

If a pilot applicant is color deficient, they can apply for a waiver by demonstrating to an FAA representative that they are able to see the lights associated with a Farnsworth lantern test or, alternatively a light ‘gun’ test that’s beamed from the tower to aircraft that have lost radio communication, an extremely rare situation to be in as a pilot, but it’s an effective test apparently.

If the prospective pilot wants to get a first class medical, which is needed to fly for an airline, they would also have to fly with an FAA inspector to come in contact with the lights most commonly encountered inflight. If they can demonstrate proficiency during this flight test, they will then be issued a waiver.

I have met a number of pilots at various major airlines who’ve successfully gone through this process.

So for most U.S. pilots, the color vision issue is not disqualifying. You might want to try to get the waiver early on in your flight training, to be sure you’re able to continue commercially. Of course, this is all based on the current FAA U.S. rules which are rumored to be changing soon. I don’t know what the requirements are in Europe or Asia. Good luck!

Luke asks:

Do pilots need to have perfect vision to fly at the airlines?

Their vision needs to be correctable to 20/20 or better to be eligible for a first class medical. Most airlines have long since dropped the requirement for uncorrected 20/20 vision, but the military still requires it at the time you begin your flight training. After getting through your flight training, you’re allowed to wear glasses, from what I understand.

Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and he’ll try to use it for next Friday’s Plane Answers feature.

Zaptag’s Waterproof USB Drive Stores Your Important Medical Information

by Willy Volk on

Before I left the US for Africa, I photocopied my important documents and carried them with me. Had I lost my passport, I would’ve had proof I was who I claimed to be. Unfortunately, the papers took up a fair amount of room and quickly got crumpled. Moreover, I was frequently paranoid someone would pinch them. Had Zaptag been available, I might’ve invested.

Zaptag allows you to store emergency contact information and personal medical records on a USB drive. Featuring specialized Windows-compatible health-records software, when a Zaptag is attached to a PC’s USB port, the Emergency Record page — which holds your key information (name, blood type, allergies, and next of kin details) — is displayed. The rest of the drive — holding your insurance details, for example — is password-protected. Of course, Zaptag holds general files, too, like passport scans, driver’s license details, itineraries, that hot girl’s phone number, etc.

Zaptag has several models available, ranging from $50-60. They even have a waterproof model available, for about $80.