It'd probably be wrong to comment on this specific case, but I'm making the assumption that this man had no symptoms prior to his death.
If that is the case, we are into the realm of screening for asymptomatic disease-the fact that he was a pilot is mostly irrelevant. The purpose of the dept is to protect the public, not the pilot.
One would have thought that the main purpose of the aviation medical is to reduce the risk of sudden incapacitation. Unfortunately medicine isn't that refined. The best we can do at the moment is managing the odds. Perhaps there may be a role for better tests, (eg exercise ecgs), but I'm not sure if the criteria below are fulfilled.
A rather dated criteria for screening is
- the condition should be an important health problem
- the natural history of the condition should be understood
- there should be a recognisable latent or early symptomatic stage
- there should be a test that is easy to perform and interpret, acceptable, accurate, reliable, sensitive and specific
- there should be an accepted treatment recognised for the disease
- treatment should be more effective if started early
- there should be a policy on who should be treated
- diagnosis and treatment should be cost-effective
- case-finding should be a continuous process
Wilson
An old adage, but probably as relevant today.
My sympathy with the grieving families. Heart disease is a scourge.