Combining The Capabilities Of Apple Technology And ADS-B Out May Replace Airline Pilot Medicals, But There Could Be A Catch

ANN's April 1 "April Fool" Special Edition

As the Pilots Bill of Rights 2 moves through Congress it looks like many general aviation pilots will catch a break on being required to have a 3rd class medical. Now, the FAA has finally stepped up to look at medical requirements for airline pilots. They are exploring technology provided through the new Apple Watch that could eliminate the first-class medical exams for ATPs.

As the new Apple Watch is set to be released later this month, we are already aware that it has the capability to monitor physical functions of its wearer. Now, inside sources have told us that Apple scientists have been working on developing a monitoring system that will pick up all the parameters needed to confirm that a pilot could pass a first-class medical exam. If this technology proves out, the first-class medical exam every 6 months could be a thing of the past.

The plan is that the watch would continually monitor a pilot’s physical condition and transmit that information through ADS-B out to a medical center on the ground. If the watch detected a medical condition that would render the pilot unable to pass a first-class physical, a message would be sent to the aircraft through ACARS commanding the 2nd pilot to take control of the aircraft.

However, our inside sources revealed that another function of this watch would be to monitor specific predictable physical indications of a pilot either committing, or thinking about, immoral conduct. This aspect of the medical watch is referred to as the Moral Character Monitoring System (MCMS). This capability would allow the FAA to finally have a way to enforce FAR 61.153 (c) that requires an ATP to, “Be of good moral character.”

When ANN contacted Captain Tim Canoll, the president of the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) about the potential of monitoring airline pilot moral behavior, Canoll said, “Everyone knows that ALPA member pilots are all of the highest moral character, and we do not believe the Moral Character Monitoring System should be applied to our members.” “However,” Canoll continued, “we cannot attest to the moral character of non ALPA members or members of other pilot unions.”

ANN predicts that the introduction of this new airline pilot medical monitoring will create an interesting discussion.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.faa-controls-everything.gov