Mind The Gap
If I understand the situation correctly, there is no agency responsible for health and safety at work for aircraft in flight. My experience tells me that companies may assume that standards applicable on the ground, at their desks, are the same as in the air. We know that the health of pilots is subject to far greater stressors than that – a pilot’s heartrate often exceeding the norm during take-off and landing. This, without the added stressor of fatigue. (The effects of stress are cumulative) In the meantime crews are working, not knowing that their working status is not covered by clear procedures underpinned by law.
I have since seen a copy of the Health and Safety Commission paper HSC/02/54 14 May 2002, by Graeme Henderson, SPDA4. Stating that the “House of Lords Science and Technology Committee during its investigation into aviation health issues identified a lacuna in that no regulatory body appeared to have any responsibility for the regulation and enforcement of health and safety issues on aircraft whilst in flight."
What does this mean for crews who experience sudden, violent and incapacitating illness in flight? What are the ramifications for their families if there is a subsequent work-related death?