While it can transpire, it's unlikely there will be a qualified medical professional in the cabin. As a result, flight attendants are responsible for caring for sick or hurt passengers. Cabin crew are trained to administer first aid and have some basic resources onboard, such as bandages and cold packs.
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A doctor may not always be seated in the cabin on your flight, but most commercial airlines are aware that in-flight medical emergencies can happen (I've written about one or two such instances myself in my time at USA TODAY). Most carriers contract with on-the-ground experts in emergency medicine at altitude.
A trained physician is aboard just about 11 of every 12 flights. The New England Journal of Medicine discovered that in-flight medical emergencies are rare to begin with.
This doesn't mean that it's a life-or-death situation; it's all just part of the process. Research has shown that there are doctors onboard as many as 70% of all commercial flights, so the chances of someone being present are pretty high.
Although not legally required to render assistance in the event of a medical emergency aboard an airplane, physicians have an ethical obligation to do so and should be prepared.
In the event that you or a loved one does get sick mid-flight, the members of your crew will serve as first responders – flight attendants are trained to handle medical emergencies and planes are equipped with first aid kits. While crew members can't diagnose a sick passenger, they can treat their symptoms.
Over-the-counter MedicationFlight attendants also have access to many over-the-counter medications, from painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen to antidiarrheals, so feel free to request these items.
Physicians reluctant to respond to a medical crisis may worry about their liability. But under the Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998 , doctors who treat a sick patient in good faith are protected from lawsuits that might arise from the care they delivered on a plane.
They're informed because air marshals are armed law enforcement officers. Whenever armed passengers such as police officers or air marshals are on a flight, they're introduced to the flight crew.
As a Flight Surgeon, you will fly into combat and humanitarian situations to administer emergency medical care. Often, you will care for patients both on the ground and in the air.
The average Flight Surgeon salary in the United States is $429,498 per year or $206 per hour. Flight surgeon salaries range between $214,000 and $860,000 per year. What Am I Worth?
In the middle, at the backNonetheless, a TIME investigation that looked at 35 years of aircraft accident data found the middle rear seats of an aircraft had the lowest fatality rate: 28%, compared with 44% for the middle aisle seats. This logically makes sense too.