THE PREVALENCE OF VISUAL DEFICIENCIES AMONG 1979 GENERAL AVIATION ACCIDENT AIRMEN

Analyses of the accident experience of pilots who were monocular, did not meet (even the liberal) vision standards, had color vision defects and no operational restrictions, or wore contact lenses, have shown higher-than-expected accident experience in previous studies. However, no causal role had been assigned by accident investigators and reexamination of the records failed to show any obvious pattern or relationship between the defects and the accidents. In the present study of 1979 accidents, the relatively small number of pilots with aphakia and artificial lens implants, as well as the total eye pathology population, had significantly higher accident rates, but the monocular pilots did not. Again, no causal role had been ascribed. Some associations are debatable, but there is no clear recurring problem. There are still unresolved questions about the consistent operational performance of monocular pilots, those who are not fully corrected to 20/20 distant visual acuity bilaterally, airmen with near vision deficiencies only who are not required to wear corrective glasses, those without fusion, and several with appreciable pathology who have 20/20 corrected central visual acuity but about whom we know very little concerning their dynamic, peripheral, depth or accommodative function. (Author)

• Record URL:
  http://www.faa.gov/data_research/research/med_humanfacs/oamtechreports/1980s/media/am81-14.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Aviation Administration

  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, P.O. Box 25082
  Oklahoma City, OK  United States  73125
• Authors:
  • Dille, J R
  • Booze, CFJ
• Publication Date: 1981-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 10 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air pilots; Air transportation crashes; Color vision; Deficiencies; Eye; Lenses (Optics); Pathology; Rates; Standards; Tables (Data); Vision; Vision disorders
• Old TRIS Terms: Abnormalities; Lenses
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Data and Information Technology; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00346724
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: FAA-AM-81-14
• Files: NTIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 29 2003 12:00AM