Glider Safety

On 2/22/2010 1:11 PM, Mike the Strike wrote:
On Feb 22, 10:55 am,
wrote:
Right. Let us inflict more restrictions on ourselves. For the
children of course. If it is a good idea for contests then it is good
idea for everyone...



Is there a case for requiring a medical certificate for SSA sanctioned
contests?

Andy


I am unaware of any third party being injured from a glider accident
resulting from incapacity of the pilot. After all, sailplanes are
pretty light and don't burn. However, it's pretty unsettling to the
rest of us. I was at Parowan last year and was also personally
affected by one such incident. You'd get my vote for requiring a
medical certificate.

You could also make a case for requiring a medical certificate for
pilots instructing and carrying passengers, but again, I doubt that
there is much of an accident database to support the need for this.

Mike
Why would it be more unsettling to someone for a glider pilot to have a
heart attack while flying and have a quick end doing what he/she loves,
vs having the same heart attack on the ground, which depending on the
circumstances may leave the person with a miserable quality of life.

I can understand the argument that we should protect innocent bystanders
from being injured as a result of a pilot's medical condition. That
same argument applies to automobiles, where an accident resulting from a
medical event is probably a lot more likely to injure a bystander than a
glider accident.

The reality is that there are a lot of glider pilots (myself included)
who ended up in the sport because it became too much of a hassle to keep
our medicals. If we start requiring medicals for soaring, it will
devastate the sport.

Personally, I'd love to live my final moments doing what I love, and
hope that all of my friends and family will share in that joy and be
thankful that I had a quick and uncomplicated end.



Mike Schumann

--
Mike Schumann