Sudden incapacitation encountered in flight by professional pilots in French civil aviation, 1948-1972.
This report concerns 17 incidents of sudden incapacitation of professional airline pilots in flight in the period 1948-1972. The high incidence of cardio-vascular accidents is noteworthy: 13 cases of which 11 were due to coronary infarction. There were two cases of unperdictable epileptic fits. None of the above gave rise to an accident. For an accident to occur, several conditions must be fulfilled at the same time: 1) The incapacity must affect the pilot at the controls; (2) The incapacity must be sudden; (3) The incapacity must  take place during a critical phase of take-off or final apprach.
D000060:Accidents, Aviation / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004630:Emergencies; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies