Chinese Journal of Aerospace Medicine 2024;35(4):281-285

doi:10.3760/cma.j.cn11385420240131-00009

Analysis on temporary grounding in the flying personnel

Lulu DONG 1 ; Xiaoxiao WU 1 ; Wei WANG 1 ; Chengxiang XIAO 1 ; Qingming LYU 1 ; Dan ZHANG 1

Affiliations

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Keywords

Physical examination; Eligibility determination; Disease spectrum; Flying personnel

Country

China

Language

Chinese

Abstract

Objective:To discuss the aeromedical support enhancement measures by analyzing the disease spectrum and the aeromedical characteristics of temporarily grounded flying personnel.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 244 flying personnel who received medical treatment at the Southern Theater Air Force Hospital from November 2011 to March 2023 and were temporarily grounded in aeromedical assessment. The flying personnel were grouped by aircraft types (fighter, trans-bomber, helicopter) and flying hours (<2 000 h and ≥2 000 h), and the spectrum of temporarily unqualified flight diseases were statistically analyzed. The disease distributions of flying personnel in different aircraft types and flying hours were compared.Results:Among the 244 flying personnel (389 person-time) who were identified as temporarily grounded by aeromedical assessment, the major specialties involved were surgery (52.5%), internal medicine (24.6%) and neuropsychiatry (14.3%). The top 10 diseases leading to temporarily grounded were cervical and lumbar spine diseases, anxiety-depression, knee joint injury (surgical treatment), anal fistula (surgical treatment), sleep disorders, joint and soft tissue injuries, hypertension, ureteral stones, achilles tendon rupture and fracture (conservative treatment). There was a significant difference in the proportion of flying personnel temporarily grounded due to anxiety-depression among different aircraft types ( P=0.014). There were no significant differences in other diseases among flying personnel in different aircraft types (all P>0.05). The proportion of temporarily grounded flying personnel due to knee joint injury in flying hours <2 000 h was higher than that in flying hours ≥2 000 h, and the difference was significant ( χ2=4.47, P=0.035). Among the 71 flying personnel who underwent repeated ground observation, 28 were identified as qualified, 22 were grounded and 21 were still temporarily grounded. Conclusions:The proportion of flying personnel temporarily grounded due to diseases is relatively high. Accurate diagnosis and treatment of diseases and aeromedical assessment are important links to promote the early return of flying personnel.