this probably inspired the episode in the jap drama with the ballpoint pen op..
actually the story came from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4973022 and my fav bits are..
I have heard someone tell a story about that happening once. They said that the cabin crew announced that they would be playing a game; they would call out an item, and give a free drink to the first person who could find that in their carry on. The first couple of items were fairly standard things; "a fountain pen", "a camera", etc. Then they got to "a commercial pilots license". Someone actually did raise their hand, and the cabin crew escorted them up to the cockpit.There was never any problem with the flight, and he never found out what happened. Probably something like the co-pilot had a problem that prevented them from continuing to act as the co-pilot, and they wanted to maintain sufficient redundancy just in case..
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My dad, an electrical engineer, was once on his way back from a conference with a Concorde flight full of other EEs. In the air, the stewardess asked, "Is there an engineer on board?" Everyone responded enthusiastically. She was forced to clarify, "Is there an aeronautical engineer on board," to disappointment all around.I must admit, some secret part of me always hopes I'll be in a situation on an airplane where they need an emergency perl script written . . .
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I must admit, some secret part of me always hopes I'll be in a situation on an airplane where they need an emergency perl script writtenOn a flight from Sydney to Vancouver earlier this year, the in-flight entertainment system on my plane was broken. I spoke up: "Hi, I have a doctorate in computer science and I know a bit about these systems... want me to take a look?"I was surprised when they agreed, brought me up to the front galley, and showed me their interface to the entertainment system (alas, the server itself was in the ceiling and not accessible). I ended up pulling out my laptop, borrowing a cat5 cable from one of the flight attendants (all of mine were in my checked suitcase) and running tcpdump on the plane's network. Alas, while that allowed me to diagnose the problem, I lacked the serial cable needed to connect to the server's console and wasn't able to fix it.
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Don't leave us hanging :) What was the problem?reply
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I used to work with a consultant paediatric neurologist who had the call go out on a trans-pacific flight for a heart problem. She was hesitating before responding because the last time she had anything to do with hearts or adults was in medical school 20 years earlier, and was frantically running through what she could remember of cardiac medicine. Just as she made up her mind to respond she was beaten to the response... by a cardiologist.
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I have had several medical emergencies onboard as a pilot. One thing I constantly say to physician friends (my wife is a doctor), is that we (the crew) expect from them to make as fast assessment of the situation as possible.For example in my company we don´t have an online doctor to ask for help, so the volunteer has to take care of the situation. Recognizing the problem as soon as possible and prescribing the necessary action (Is not going to be easy with such limited capabilities, sometimes is just impossible, but is better an overreaction), is important because commercial planes fly at 8 NM/minute, and depending where are you flying ( flying over the ocean or africa) 10 minute delays could mean another 30 extra min to land or even several hours if you have passed a no return point in the middle of the ocean.
Don´t hesitate to take control of the situation regarding the patient, stewardesses and other passengers:- Ask for the medikit (only physicians are allowed to use it). I have seen some chief stewardess resisting to bring it, just to avoid having to write the compulsory report. - If it is necessary to lay the passenger on the ground or other seats, bring him water or any other thing, just give the needed orders and ask for help. - Ask the stewardesses to keep other passengers away if they are interfering too much. - As soon as practicable give a report to the captain and if necessary ask him to land the plane. He will be waiting for it. - If possible never declare a decease onboard , first you could be wrong!, and it is a bureaucratic mess. Is better to keep trying CPR till the emergency team can take care of the patient. We apply this in Europe although it is not a written rule, I don´t know how it works in USA. -Remember when in doubt it is better to ask the captain to land. Everybody will lose an hour or two but a live will probably be saved.
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As a physician, thank you for this. Is there a standard medkit load out?reply
There is an ICAO recomended kit list, but usually is more extensive than that, I have our company list (I'll search it and post it later) but trying to find if there is a more general one. Now a days there are also automatic defribilators (spelling?) in transoceanic planes. There should be some kind of general briefing for physicians, from airlines and medical asociations.reply
I believe this document has the current ICAO med kit. Interestingly, I work with the guys who draw up these supply lists for naval ships, and we're chopping one now. Will definitely include this in the discussion. I really hope you can send me your company list.http://www.asma.org/asma/media/asma/pdf-policy/2007/airline-...
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I found something better than my company list, this is IATA medical manual. It is much more extensive, and it covers almost everything related with health and flight. But you can find the recommended kit in the SECTION 6 passenger care, APPENDIX B. I suppose it will be of more interest for you.I must also say that when there is a person onboard with high fiver or symptoms of a contagious disease, in the USA you have to notify to the authorities (the Federal and State Quarantine and Isolation Authority I think) immediately. I didn´t know it before I read the manual as I am not currently doing intercontinental flights.https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/safety/health/Documents/medica...
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Interesting - this is essentially an ALS (Advanced Life Support / Paramedic) bag.reply
Minus a laryngoscope and other vital airway kit items. Although I couldn't imagine trying to use one on the aisle of an aircraft, I'm sure there are many paramedics, anesthesiologists, and ER nurses and physicians who wouldn't hesitate if one were needed. All there appears to be for airway support are oropharyngeal airways. That's surprising and in my opinion (as someone with long-expired EMT training), unfortunate. The same goes for AEDs. A $2000 kit that could save someone's live from being claimed from the most common group of disease in the Western world (cardiovascular diseases) should be a no-brainer aboard a 200 million dollar aircraft. People are helpless at 30,000 feet and it's the airlines' responsibility to have the equipment available for qualified medical professionals who happen to be on board in the event of an emergency. AEDs could even be used by steward/esses who had undergone minimal training.
