Is there a pilot in the operating theatre?

[JohnD]

We all like to learn, especially about a technical subject, so I was pleased to find the YouTube channel called "Mentour Pilot".   He is a Swedish commercial pilot, an instructor and examiner of pilots, who I would be very happy to be flown by!     On his channel, he analyses flying incidents forensically, but in a way that is alsosympathetic to the pressure on pilots and reassuring to their passengers.    You might think that reviewing such events would  make you more nervous about flying as a passenger, but I found the reverse.    The events are not all ghastly crashes, but reflect the vast complexity of running what must be the most complex machines on Earth!

The human body is more complex, and less well understood than aircraft, and anaesthesia has been compared to flight, with high-risk induction and recovery like take-off and landing, with smooth flight between them.   It's not like that at all!  Apart from anything else, a pilot doesn't have b*rst*d surgeons trying to pull you off-course all the time!  But that's their job.  I would like to see the detailed analysis that flight recorders can provide available in theatre, together with the 'no-blame' attitude that is apparent in aviation but less so for doctors, so that 'incidents' are reported, analysed and discussed.   I'm not the first to say this: https://www.bjanaesthesia.org.uk/article/S0007-0912(17)33561-4/fulltext     Standardised procedures and routines are being introduced, such as the WHO pre-list briefing session.    As aircraft stop flying when they get old and worn out, it's difficult to compare actual risk, because by definition, surgery is only ever needed when the "aircraft" is faulty and the need for surgery and anaesthesia increases as we age.  

You are unlikely to be able to discuss your flight with your pilot, but you will always see your surgeon and the anaesthetist before your operation!  Believe it or not, they like to talk to patients!

Mentour Pilot's channel is at https://www.youtube.com/c/MentourPilotaviation     Enjoy!

 

John

Edited May 20, 2022 by JohnD

[JohnD]

You may have read recently of the extraordinary incident off the Florida coast, when a pilot went unconscious and a passenger with no pilot training landed the aircraft.   This very new "Mentour Pilot" episode tells much more than the newspapers, and as the presenter says, demonstrates excellent resourcefulness and enterprise by all concerned, not least the impromptu pilot!

 

[thebrookster]

1 hour ago, JohnD said:

You may have read recently of the extraordinary incident off the Florida coast, when a pilot went unconscious and a passenger with no pilot training landed the aircraft.   This very new "Mentour Pilot" episode tells much more than the newspapers, and as the presenter says, demonstrates excellent resourcefulness and enterprise by all concerned, not least the impromptu pilot!

 

Radio Scotland had a "piece" on this just after it happened. The presenter/interviewer popped up to a nearby airport that had a flight school to interview an instructor (how likely kind of thing). Unbeknown to him, the flight school decided that the easiest method to explain it was to re-enact, using the poor presenter as the bogeyman. Up he went, with an instructor initially flying before "playing dead" and allowing the second instructor in the tower to talk him down. Made for quite an interesting article! 

[JohnD]

In the latest from the Mentour Pilot, he puts a passenger in the cockpit, who must land the aircraft!

Enjoy - I did!