We really want to raise awareness within the diabetic community and people interested in aviation. We look forward to engaging with them meaningfully and adding value to the development of a protocol that furthers South African aviation and furthers the lives of all diabetic pilots and aspiring young aviators with diabetes! Fortunately for us, the South African Civil Aviation Authority is one of the most progressive and forward thinking aviation authorities in Africa and recognised as being one of the top 10 in the world. We have explored overseas legislation and international best practice and amalgamated it into a set of rules and guidelines that we can apply in a South African context. What are you suggesting for South African Pilots with Diabetes? This is extremely achievable with good diabetes management. An HbA1C of 8.5% or less is recognised by all the regulators as being the upper limit for medical certification. Each international aviation authority has slightly different rules, but on average the international best practise for blood glucose tolerance is between 5.0 mmol/l and 15.0 mmol/l. This certainly creates a heightened awareness of the pilot’s blood glucose to safely conduct the flight. The blood glucose value would need to be shared with the other pilot, the cockpit voice recorder and also recorded in the pilots logbook. Typically this would need to be done before signing on for duty, before and during the flight, repeating this check every 60 minutes and just before landing. Some of the rules would dictate how regularly a pilot must test their blood glucose. A protocol is a set of rules and guidelines that allows a pilot to be certified as medically fit to fly commercially – usually with certain restrictions.Īn example of a restriction would be limiting an insulin dependant diabetic pilot to fly with a co-pilot when operating in a scheduled airline service type of operation. What do other countries do?Įach country listed above has a national aviation authority that has developed a medical “protocol”. It demonstrates that our national legislation has not moved with the times, and has not considered new therapeutic treatments in diabetes management such as access to CGM technology. Their modern approach to medical certification is considered “international best practice”. They are: Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland, the UK and the USA. We are optimistic that this legislation can be reviewed and updated as there is supporting research and tangible evidence from international aviation authorities that represent some of the biggest aviation regulators in the world. The South African national legislation was last updated in 2015 and is the only obstacle in flight path before we can be re-certified to fly commercially. Worldwide there are accepted protocols (rules) and practices that allow pilots to fly commercially under certain conditions. Type 1 diabetes is actually not an issue for pilots. Why is having Type 1 diabetes an issue for pilots? This motivated me to form the movement to find others and build a presence in the diabetic community. Perhaps they were diagnosed before access to CGM (thanks and and new therapeutic interventions that have revolutionised diabetes management. I quickly realised that there must be other pilots that have also succumbed to a similar diagnosis. This was extremely disappointing for me, as I’m passionate about flying and all types of aircraft – big or small. After applying to the SACAA Aeromedical Committee, they initially declared me “permanently medically unfit” to fly as an airline pilot. This put an abrupt and premature end to my airline career at a very young age – I was only 28 years old at the time. In early 2020, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Existing pilots who have been diagnosed and lay the foundations for aspiring young people who want to pursue a career in aviation. We want to further the South African aviation landscape for all existing and aspiring diabetic pilots. Pilots with Diabetes SA is a movement that has been formed to raise awareness of legislative challenges we are faced with, when applying to be certified as medically fit by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA). We are advocates for all pilots with all types of insulin treated diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2. We spoke to Jonathan Collins to find out more… What is Pilots with Diabetes? Have you heard about Pilots with Diabetes? They’re a group of dedicated pilots who want to change Civil Aviation laws in South Africa.
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