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-   -   Sleep Apnea-new FAA Guidelines - be prepared! (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/pilot-health/87019-sleep-apnea-new-faa-guidelines-prepared.html)

forgot to bid 03-20-2015 12:54 PM


Originally Posted by shoelu (Post 1846499)
What happens if you have a BMI of 35 and a 17 inch neck but raise no concerns when questioned by your ME?

Do you snore?---No, never.
Do you sleep soundly throughout the night?---Yes, always.
Do you experience daytime sleepiness?---No, never.
Do you suffer from hypertension?---No.
Do you smoke?---No.

Does the ME simply mark you down as showing no signs of OSA?
If so, won't everyone just learn the correct answers to the diagnostic inquiries?

Yes.

But, and this is my guess and I only play a doctor on the internets, OKC could always come behind them and say no one is required based on BMI and neck size. Actually, I need to go back and read the OPs link, there was a guide for AMEs I believe there.

My other thought is one smart sleep study place will learn that it is lucrative to find few to no pilots have OSA.

But I've never been to one of these places but it seems to me that people that go there want to be found with OSA so they can get the machines? Is that a logical assumption or am I off? Because if it was the case then they'd probably default to positive for OSA now please pay this referral? Or is that just a dentist thing?

FWIW, if the solution was wear a dental implant and out the door you go. I wouldn't lose much more sleep over this and that would be good because I can't stay awake anymore during the day. But I'd rather see simple solutions then surgeries and loss of medical. But my guess is some folks in the FAA don't get kickbacks if the solution is simple. :D There I said it.

N9373M 03-21-2015 05:21 AM


Originally Posted by forgot to bid (Post 1846528)
FWIW, if the solution was wear a dental implant and out the door you go.

IIRC dental implants would not make the FAA happy. Same thing for a t-shirt with a tennis ball woven into the back (to keep you from sleeping on your back).

73M - OSA + FAA survivor.

Karnak 03-21-2015 07:22 AM


Originally Posted by N9373M (Post 1846817)
Same thing for a t-shirt with a tennis ball woven into the back (to keep you from sleeping on your back)

Could be effective. I've flown with a few pilots that use their wardrobe to prevent them from sleeping on females.

Denny Crane 03-21-2015 07:28 AM


Originally Posted by shoelu (Post 1846499)
What happens if you have a BMI of 35 and a 17 inch neck but raise no concerns when questioned by your ME?

Do you snore?---No, never.
Do you sleep soundly throughout the night?---Yes, always.
Do you experience daytime sleepiness?---No, never.
Do you suffer from hypertension?---No.
Do you smoke?---No.

Does the ME simply mark you down as showing no signs of OSA?
If so, won't everyone just learn the correct answers to the diagnostic inquiries?

You forgot numbers 3 and 4 (:rolleyes:) according to one of the links at the beginning of this thread.................being male and over 50. Of course number 4 may not apply to you yet!:)

Denny

rickair7777 03-21-2015 07:45 AM


Originally Posted by rvr1800 (Post 1845144)
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.

Two mesa pilots in a CRJ fell asleep, overshot one of the Hawaiian islands, headed out to sea and almost flamed out before they made it back to land. CA had OSA for sure, I believe that incident was the catalyst although the post-colgan fatigue studies probably played a role.

Also any of a number of fatigue-involved accidents might have been affected in the past. It's a reasonable suspicion, and can't be disproved.

forgot to bid 03-21-2015 09:33 AM


Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 1846879)
Two mesa pilots in a CRJ fell asleep, overshot one of the Hawaiian islands, headed out to sea and almost flamed out before they made it back to land. CA had OSA for sure, I believe that incident was the catalyst although the post-colgan fatigue studies probably played a role.

Also any of a number of fatigue-involved accidents might have been affected in the past. It's a reasonable suspicion, and can't be disproved.

The Captain had OSA but the FO did not, so the FO shouldn't have been wide awake. Unless there are more reasons than OSA that would cause a pilot to fall asleep in the cockpit?

There was also an article on this but according to it the NTSB has not found it to be a cause of any accident. The pilots who have had known OSA and had accidents had accidents that had nothing to do with falling asleep. http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/pilo...l#.VQ2st454p_M

forgot to bid 03-21-2015 09:36 AM

Also from the FAA:


OSA is almost universal in obese individuals who have
a body mass index over 40 and a neck circumference of
17 inches or more, but up to 30% of individuals with
a BMI less than 30 have OSA.
So basically 1/3 of the < 30 BMI crowd have OSA and they're going to want to get them tested and treated according to the former Chief Surgeon Fred Tilton.

http://cdn.avweb.com/media/newspics/...ton_md_fas.gif

I think the ATA will get this shutdown at that point. :D

buddies8 03-21-2015 09:39 AM

catch 22, must keep the medical profession properly paid for stupidity.

rvr1800 03-21-2015 09:46 AM


Originally Posted by Karnak (Post 1846868)
Could be effective. I've flown with a few pilots that use their wardrobe to prevent them from sleeping on females.

Slow clap..

rvr1800 03-21-2015 09:49 AM


Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 1846879)
Two mesa pilots in a CRJ fell asleep, overshot one of the Hawaiian islands, headed out to sea and almost flamed out before they made it back to land. CA had OSA for sure, I believe that incident was the catalyst although the post-colgan fatigue studies probably played a role.

Also any of a number of fatigue-involved accidents might have been affected in the past. It's a reasonable suspicion, and can't be disproved.

Rick forgot to bid already poked a giant hole in your argument. But I gotta ask, are you just playing devil's advocate? Or do you actually believe we need stricter medical standards in this profession? If it's the latter what would make you feel that would increase safety? And I'd like examples of where tougher medical standards would have prevented an accident.


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