Timbo

Absolutely! You can't be too safe! I think we should do this type of screening before every leg, on every day, on every trip!

Because, well, do you know how many airline accidents have been caused by all those unhealthy pilots?

I just hope nobody at CNN finds out about this! Where's the guy with the goatee in the 777 sim? We need him to straighten this mess out!

N9373M

I am also opposed to the big brother approach, but from what MikeF16 describes, in this one case, that person needs to be checked out. One does not adapt to "waking up" every 30-40 seconds, nor do they probably know they are suffering from it or even realize they are "waking up". I use the term "waking up" loosely. During an apnea, the O2 sats drop and the brain fires a message to get more oxygen. The person is not consciously aware of this.

It should not threaten his career, simply get his OSA treated.

I had OSA, did not know it (family doc suspected), had the sleep studies, did the CPAP and finally surgery to correct it. Occasionally, I would dream of being suffocated, and truly wake up gasping for air.

rvr1800

I don't deny that OSA is a serious issue and should be treated on ones own time and at ones own personal decision. I don't accept the FAA and AME diagnosing this and then having guys lose their medical over it. It goes way too far.

And to reiterate I will not be effected (affected?) by this whatsoever. I'm in the normal BMI range. My dad worked for the company that made the bipap and cpap. So I know how serious and widespread an issue it is and how shortsighted using BMI is.

rickair7777

Sleep apnea is clearly a fatigue issue. May not make you bust a checkride but you might fall asleep or make a huge screwup after a long day (or night).

I think they need a reasonable screening mechanism, whatever that might be, but just letting OSA slide by is probably not the right answer. They wouldn't let any of that other stuff you mentioned slide if they had reason to suspect. And maybe establish a grace period give folks the opportunity to make sure they don't have OSA.

Firsttimeflyer

So how many accidents have been attributed to OSA? if we can't find any, then let's start digging into other issues that have never caused an accident. Like old age when guys fall asleep in the cockpit more often. We need to start testing for that too, probably have to sit with the AME for 8 hours with a radio call every 20-60 minutes and see if they stay alert and awake.

So unless you want to start digging into things that have not caused accidents, I'd suggest we fight against this intrusion whether if affects you or not.

Timbo

It's starting to sound like the Air Force's 'Fat Boy' program has migrated to the Airlines via the FAA.

You guys hash it out, I've got to go ride my bike now!

I'll probably be hit by a 92yr. old driving a Cadillac, or a kid driving while texting, but let's not worry about things like that, which we can easily stop, things that kill thousands of people every year on the highways.

Let's just pick on the fat guys who are flying airplanes and have never had an accident...

The best government money can buy!

F15Cricket

Maybe we also need to test the AMEs prior to our physical? And politicians prior to their votes--wouldn't want them voting on a defence bill, for instance, on not enough rest!

We should definitely push for FAA inspectors to have the same standards, as how could they safely inspect us if they themselves are unsafe?!

rvr1800

Why not? Hasn't been an issue for the over 100 years we've been doing this now. Maybe the Wright brothers had OSA?! We better start from scratch.

Andy

Any AME that sends a bunch of his customers to get 'screened' for this needs to be put out of business. If you've read anything from Dr Tilton, you'll see that they're expecting ~90% of pilots to have sleep apnea. And that includes the pilots that look like they've just been liberated from Auschwitz. So just because you're skinny doesn't mean that you won't eventually be a target of this silliness.

'Specialists' such as the OP will likely find 100% of 'fatties' have OSA. The FAA's going to take that information and continue to tighten the standards until 'specialists' like the OP have lined their pockets with every pilot's money. Because they're going to find that every single pilot has OSA, based on their screening criteria.

Andy

Let's take this 'waking up every 30-40 seconds' to the next silliness. Any pilot who has a colicky child should be required to stay in a hotel room so that they can get uninterrupted sleep.

No pilot can stay at any hotel that does not have totally soundproof rooms so that they get undisturbed sleep.

No pilot should be permitted to consume alcohol because it's been proven to disrupt your sleep. All pilots will be required to take antabuse.

Ah, the Big Brother silliness. George Orwell was just a couple of decades too early. I'm trying to shop for a top loading washer - thanks to .gov regulations, it's impossible to find one that gets your clothes clean. Thanks, Big Brother.

More regulations to fix nonexistent problems is always a good idea. In a totalitarian society. And anyone who favors this OSA silliness is getting the government that they deserve.