Aeromedical certification of a pilot with bi-lateral prosthetic hands--a case report.
This case report involved a 47-yr-old male pilot, with 20,000 h of total flight time, who was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic amputation of both of his hands, as well as head injuries with temporary cognitive deficits. He underwent rehabilitation and was fitted with Otto Bock myoelectrically-controlled upper extremity (right and left) prostheses. In the past, the FAA had medically certified a total of 17 pilots (3 Second-Class and 14 Third-Class) with unilateral amputated hands (8-left and 9-right). This was the first case involving a bilateral hand amputee. This report describes the aeromedical certification procedure used to determine this pilot's fitness for the issuance of a Third Class Medical Certificate.
Ospina
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Federal Aviation Administration, Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, OK 73125, USA.
Antuñano
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D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D001186:Artificial Limbs; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011474:Prosthesis Design