In April, the FAA announced that it will ask Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs) to review a new draft guidance that would require pilots at risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to undergo testing and treatment, if necessary.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than 18 million American adults suffer from sleep apnea. The FAA says the new guidance “aims to improve the safety and health of pilots by reducing burdens and disincentives that may have prevented some pilots from obtaining an OSA assessment and treatment” and comes “in response to concerns from the aeronautical medical community “.
But in December, the draft guideline received vocal opposition from general and commercial aviation pilots, specifically regarding the FAA’s plans to require all pilots with a BMI of 40 or higher to undergo testing and treatment. potential for OSA.
OSA is a life-threatening condition that occurs during sleep when the throat or tongue obstructs the airways, causing the airways to close and the person having trouble breathing. Due to snoring and pauses in breathing, some patients end up breathing less than half of what they should. Daytime fatigue caused by apnea events can be very dangerous, especially for those who need to be alert while piloting or driving. Since apnea episodes occur during sleep, many patients suffer from this condition for years and are unaware of it. OSA is very common in overweight and obese patients.
The Airline Pilots Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and the National Commercial Aviation Association questioned the safety justification of the draft and requested that the FAA go through a formal rulemaking process before announcing a new policy of mandatory tests.
Since then, the FAA has agreed to review the draft of the guide and has asked the aviation coroners to review the draft of the revisions by the end of April. The revised draft of the guide also comes as House and Senate lawmakers introduced legislation that would require such regulation for any mandatory OSA testing. The House passed its version of the bill last February.
Under the last draft
According to the latest draft of the guide, while AMEs will consider all risk factors for OSA, pilots will not be disqualified based solely on BMI. The FAA says that “AMEs will issue medical certificates to pilots regardless of BMI if they are qualified.”
However, pilots deemed “significant risk” will be referred for an OSA evaluation, but the FAA says any physician can complete the tests. Also, this evaluation may not require a laboratory sleep study or home study if the doctor does not think it is necessary.
The FAA is providing a 90-day window for the medical report to be provided to AME, so that pilots can continue to fly during this period. Pilots diagnosed with OSA must provide documentation of effective treatment and then obtain a special issuance letter.
While the revised draft guideline removes the BMI threshold, the FAA’s statement on the guideline reiterates the belief that OSA is nearly universal in obese people with a BMI of 40 or more, and that untreated OSA has always has been and will continue to be a disqualifying medical problem. condition.