Emergency medicine and the airline passenger.

In the 12 month period Oct. 1, 1978 - Sept. 30, 1979, United States airlines carried 318 million passengers as revealed by the Federal Aviation Administration. It is estimated that 1 out of every 1 million passengers may be deplaned by an unscheduled landing due to a life-threatening medical emergency. The time required for airline aircraft to make an unscheduled landing can be in the range of an hour or more, especially for wide-body jet aircraft. Therefore, immediate emergency care, including first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, must be available if a hight level of occupant safety is to be assured. This paper provides information on in-flight emergencies and describes some simple ane effective techniques suitable for in-flight operations. Training flight attendants to deal with in-flight medical emergencies and to use first-aid support equipment and essential and useful drugs may later help with stabilization of a victim and allow continuing the flight to the scheduled destination, obviating the need for a diverted landing with all of the associated potential flight hazards, inconveniences, fuel wastage and increased costs.