Ok, I get it that if two commercial pilots or one or any carrying a load of passengers would have unreasonable risk factors if they are nodding off to sleep during their flights.  Maybe this needs to be an ATP rating requirement. However, can you honestly say someone with this condition is more dangerous to the public than the sleep apnea'd driver of a car on a busy two lane street with or without passengers?  

I think the answer is a resounding no and would think that we should address the bigger problem before we tackle the little one.


John Barrett
N31VP

Sent from my iPad


> On Nov 18, 2013, at 5:45 AM, R Douglas Owen <visfishdo@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I have a comment regarding the recent FAA rule regarding sleep apnea.
>
> I am a senior aviation medical examiner, a board certified family doc, and a IV-P turbine builder and pilot.
>
> During the evaluation of patients with sleep apnea, I have encountered people who have arousals (mini wake up episodes) as often as 30 to 60 times per hour. This could mean that the average length of restful restorative sleep amounts to one or two minutes at a time throughout the night. This condition is generally associated with low oxygen levels in the body. As aviators, we do know the ill effects of hypoxia on the body systems.   These individuals typically awaken with marked fatigue; often feeling just as tired when they wake up as when they went to bed.
>
> Morbid obesity [BMI (body mass index - a mathematical ratio of weight vs height)  > 40 - not just those of us who need to lose a few pounds] has a strong correlation with sleep problems.
>
> As a passenger on the flights that I am not able to take my Lancair, I would like to hope that the pilot is at his best, having had more than a 1 minute stretch of sleep throughout the night. Typically I do not have the option to check out the pilot and choose to stay behind if I wanted to.
>
> The FAA primary mandate is to try to assure the safety of the public. Though not all morbidly obese people have sleep apnea, obesity is a significant risk factor - particularly for the morbidly obese with a BMI > 40. It does not seem unreasonable to me to apply some screening process to consider evaluation for pilots who may be  at risk.
>
> It is my understanding that this rule was presented after a commercial crew (the captain did have a diagnosis of sleep apnea that was not treated, the first officer just was tired, but without sleep apnea) BOTH went to sleep and overflew the destination by 25 miles  before they happened to wake up.
>
> Though none of us appreciate the government poking its nose  into our business, in my opinion it is very logical to assess the morbidly obese pilot for a condition that may well be very critical to the safety of all aboard the aircraft.
>
> Doug Owen
> Sent from my iPad
> --
> For archives and unsub http://mail.lancaironline.net:81/lists/lml/List.html