Are you fit for flight?

Are you performing a self assessment before each flight?

FAA’s latest FlySafe GA Safety Enhancement topic, “Are You Fit for Flight?” discusses the importance of checking in with yourself before each flight to make sure you are nourished, hydrated, rested, and emotionally fit to fly. Similar to a preflight checklist used to inspect your aircraft, the IMSAFE checklist helps you assess your own personal fitness for flight.

The checklist is designed to address six key areas:

I – Illness: Am I feeling ill today? If the answer is yes, it’s probably not a good day to fly or perhaps even drive a car.

M – Medication: Am I taking any prescription or over-the-counter medication that could compromise my ability to fly? Many medicines caution against operating machinery and aircraft certainly qualify as complex machines.

S – Stress: Am I under unusual stress today? We all cope with stress each day and a little stress has been shown to improve human performance. But, if we’re under moderate to heavy stress, our performance will not be our best and it may even be dangerous. If, for instance, we are flying to a very important meeting that cannot be re-scheduled or delayed, the importance of the mission could compromise our pre and in-flight decision-making.

A – Alcohol: Have I ingested any alcohol in the previous twenty-four hours? The rule says eight hours but lingering effects can persist.

F – Fatigue: Am I adequately rested before this flight? And just as important, will I become fatigued during the flight? We may be fine for the short drive home after a long day at work, but embarking on a flight, perhaps at night, may be a greater challenge than we should accept. Getting a good night’s sleep and starting in the morning may well be the safer choice.

E – Eating/Emotion: Am I adequately nourished and hydrated? And am I emotionally ready for this flight? We like to say we leave our problems on the ground when we fly but, for most of us, that’s not really true. If we’re worried or even very happy about something, we may dwell on the topic at the expense of our flight duties or our decision-making may be compromised.

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Eric Radtke

It was his first airplane trip at age seven that made Eric decide to become a pilot. "While boarding the airplane, a flight attendant noticed my interest in the flight deck and urged me to go talk to the pilot. I give a lot of credit to that pilot for my career choice." He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and went on to an airline career. He learned to fly at Sporty’s as part of the University of Cincinnati’s Professional Pilot Program, an initiative he later directed. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and went on to an airline career. Eric now manages Sporty’s media network including FlightTrainingCentral.com. In addition, Eric serves as a Captain in a Cincinnati-based corporate flight department.

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