His tests pointed to impending heart attack
KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 8
The recent death of a senior captain at the Nepal Airlines Corporation has once again laid bare the state of aviation safety in Nepal, running contrary to the claims of significant improvements in Nepali skies made by the head honchos of the aviation regulator body.
Senior Captain Rakesh Jung Rana lost his life due to massive heart attack on November 25. Rana was admitted to HAMS, a Kathmandu-based hospital, on November 24 after he felt uncomfortable while preparing to command an NAC flight to the Malaysian capital on the same night. He was pronounced dead at HAMS the very next day.
According to experts, aviators globally undergo a regular medical check-up to ensure that they are in optimal health as stipulated by ICAO, the global aviation regulatory body. It is necessary as scores of passengers are on board a flight.
"Captain Rakesh was 62.
Post 60, pilots have to undergo more rigorous medical examinations every six months, instead of once year," a senior NAC official told .
According to aviation medical practitioners, treadmill test (TMT) is a non-invasive test that predicts an impending heart attack with remarkable accuracy.
However, CAAN aeromedical examiners are content relying on ECG test, which does not provide a picture of the heart's capacity to pump blood. TMT and ECHO records of Captain Rakesh's tests last conducted in 2019 and viewed by this daily reveal that he was very likely to suffer a heart attack.
As per medical experts, this should have alerted the concerned aero-medical physician, leading to the suspension of the pilot's medical wellness certificate.
It's the responsibility of the chief aviation medical assessor (CAMA) to examine medical test reports of pilots before deeming them fit to fly. In Captain Rakesh's case, as per the evidences, CAAN's medical assessor, who has sole responsibility to approve pilots for flights, completely overlooked his medical reports. "His latest TMT and ECHO reports had flaws, which were overlooked by CAAN's medical assessor. CAMA termed the report's findings as 'normal'.
Besides, if he had been alerted on time, his death would have been prevented," a senior cardiologist said.
CAAN's medical assessor is an oncologist who is not authorised to analyse ECG or ECHO reports, a senior pilot with NAC told THT. CAAN officials, however, refused to comment.
A CAMA must have at least five years' experience of aviation medical examiner (AME), according to the medical manual of CAAN.
Stakeholders say AME and CAMA must have passed exams, and not just attended programme/course which has to be updated/refreshed from time to time just like other medical CME programmes.
Appointment of AMEs at CAAN continues to be at the whims of the chief of the Flight Safety Department, where connections alone matter.
Moreover, AMEs have a free hand in careers of flight crew, but there are no checks to preempt a possible abuse. Recently, an AME pocketed five times more than the stipulated fees from Buddha Air Captain, a former CAAN executive said.
