[Article] Heart equipment should be standard on aircraft - experts

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/3869847?view=Eircomnet

Heart equipment should be standard on aircraft - experts
From:ireland.com
Wednesday, 25th August, 2004

Resuscitation equipment used to revive those who suffer a sudden heart attack should be carried on all airplanes, the Government's air accident experts have recommended.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport made the recommendation in its report on an incident on a Ryanair flight two years ago when the pilot suffered a serious heart attack shortly after take-off on a flight from Charleoi in Brussels to Stansted in London.

The cabin crew and a husband-and-wife team of doctors on board the flight on September 13th 2002 attempted to revive the 57-year-old captain while the first officer turned the flight around and returned to Charleoi. The pilot eventually responded to intensive resuscitation efforts and the use of a defibrillator. There was no defibrillator on board the flight, although there were attempts to administer oxygen to the pilot.

The AAIU report recommends that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) should adopt the Federal Aviation Authority's recommendation on the carriage of defibrillators as a standard for all airlines.

It also noted that the pilot's incapacitation was sudden and quickly recognised by the first officer and commended him for his action in informing the cabin crew, taking command of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft and returning to land as quickly as possible as "logical, prioritised, effective and commendable".

The report also says the husband-and-wife medical team provided "an excellent response" to the on-board emergency. It adds that the action of the first officer, the cabin crew, the emergency services, air traffic control and the doctors on board "probably saved the pilot's life".

irlhost

Monaghan shopping centre have just installed a defibtech lifeline AED. This is the second shopping centre in the North Eastern Health Board region to install a defibrillator.

You can find details about defibrillators from the following:-

http://www.irishheart.ie

&

http://www.aed.ie