A investigação médica de acidentes aeronáuticos na aviação civil no Brasil

Abstract

The main purpose of this monograph was to analyze to what extent medical investigations of aircraft accidents of civil aviation, held in Brazil, correspond to international flight safety standards. The intermediate objectives were: a) to study the medical investigations’ protocols of aircraft accidents established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); b) to analyze the international literature available on aerospace medicine, specifically the aspects of medical investigation of aircraft accidents; and c) to examine the methodology used to investigate the medical aspects in aircraft accidents of civil aviation in Brazil. The methodology included the analysis of medical investigation's protocols recommended by the ICAO, the consultation of aerospace medicine textbooks and of scientific papers. It addressed how medical investigations are carried out in Brazil, examined by means of manuals and standards issued by the Center of Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA), the central organ of the System of Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (SIPAER). The protocol used in Brazil was compared to international standards. The finding indicates that the medical investigation in Brazil for aeronautical accidents of civil aviation corresponds to international flight safety standards. It is suggested an update of the MCA Manual 3-6 and a review of the working form that makes up the Preliminary Registration in regard to medical aspects, in order to improve it and to provide increasingly higher levels of quality medical investigation of aircraft accidents.