Permanent Medical Grounding in Royal Canadian Air Force Pilots (2008–2017)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this retrospective registry study was to review the medical causes of RCAF pilot permanent grounding during the period 2008–2017 and to compare our findings to the previous study of 1978–1987 to determine if disease patterns had changed.METHODS: Material was obtained from the RCAF 1 Canadian Air Division Surgeon’s medical registry of military pilots. Anonymized data for permanently grounded pilots were classified by medical diagnosis, age, and training status.RESULTS: During the period 2008–2017, there were a total of 162 pilots permanently grounded, of which 110 were trained and 52 untrained.DISCUSSION: In comparison to the 1991 study, there has been a decrease in permanent groundings due cardiovascular disease, but an increase due to mental health conditions, musculoskeletal issues, and motion sickness.Haworth D, Gray G, Zoltenko R, Bashirzadeh AJ. Permanent medical grounding in Royal Canadian Air Force pilots (2008–2017). Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2021; 92(11): 913–918.