It's important for pilots to be able to recognize and evaluate their stressors so they can mitigate risk.The proverbial fairytale wedding is something many girls dream about, but once adulthood arrives (along with a big dose of reality), not everyone jumps aboard the marriage train. A source of anxiety for one person might be a fun challenge for another person. Also, everyone handles stress differently. But stress can accumulate and affect performance. Psychological stress can occur for many reasons such as divorce, family problems, financial troubles or just a change in schedule.Ī small level of stress can be a good thing, as it keeps pilots aware and on their toes.
This category of stress includes anxiety, social and emotional factors and mental fatigue. Psychological stress can be more difficult to identify. Unhealthy eating habits, illness, and other physical ailments are included in this category, too.Įnvironmental stress comes from the immediate surroundings and includes things such as being too hot or too cold, inadequate oxygen levels or loud noises. It comes from fatigue, strenuous exercise, being out of shape or changing time zones, to name a few. Physiological stress is stress in the physical sense. There are at least three kinds of stress that pilots should be aware of: Physiological, environmental and psychological stress. If the medication is taken once a day, for example, you would wait five days before flying again. So how long should you wait after taking medication to fly? Well, that depends on the drug itself, but the FAA recommends waiting until at least five dosage periods have passed. Even after the medication has been stopped, the effects of it may remain in the body for some time.
Then, pilots need to be aware of residual effects of both short-term and long-term use of medications. If medication is necessary, pilots should discuss the specific effects of the medication with an aviation medical examiner to determine if it causes mental or physical impairment that would interfere with the safety of flight. Many prescription and over-the-counter medications can be dangerous for a pilot to take before flying. But with illness comes medication, and all medications should be scrutinized by both the pilot and his or her doctor before taking it. With illness, it's mostly clear when a pilot should or shouldn't fly. After the coughing and sneezing subside, a pilot might feel well enough to fly but could still have trouble performing the Valsalva maneuver, for example, which equalizes the pressure inside of his ears. From sinus pressure to general malaise, pilots can easily become more of a risk to the flight than an asset.īefore flying, pilots should think about recent or current illnesses that might affect flight.
The pilot alone is responsible for ensuring his health is up to par before taking the controls.Ĭolds, allergies, and other common illnesses can cause problems for pilots. In the interest of safety, the FAA does regulate this topic loosely by stating that if a pilot has or develops a known medical condition that would prevent him from obtaining a medical certificate, he is prohibited from flying as a required crewmember (FAR 61.53).Īlso, FAR 91.3 states that the pilot in command is directly responsible for the operation of the flight. The FAA requires most pilots to possess a valid medical certificate for flight, but the occasional medical exam every five years doesn’t cover illness such as colds and flu.
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