ABSTRACT
Aviation professionals are frequently required to assess their ability to perform when faced with illness, medication and alcohol use, fatigue, stress, and other potentially distracting influences in their lives. The process of evaluating their current medical state and making the appropriate decisions can be easy, difficult, or maddeningly unclear. A discussion of the ethical basis of these decisions is an appropriate aid for deciding on the correct course of action in determining their medical eligibility to perform aviation duties. These issues are also shared by other individuals performing safety-sensitive duties in the aviation industry. The concept of acceptable risk considers that some risk is inherent to medical conditions that may exist despite due diligence on the part of pilots and their medical examiners. The responsibility rests with the pilot to determine if their condition meets aviation medical standards, namely the ability to hold an appropriate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical certificate.
