TEMPE, Ariz. (September 24, 2002) MedAire, Inc. is now offering altitude chamber training for pilots and flight crew, allowing them to experience altitude sickness conditions such as hypoxia and rapid decompression first-hand.  To do so, the company has teamed up with Arizona State University East and will provide students with instructor-led training from inside the university’s Altitude Chamber.

“In just a few seconds, pilots and flight crew can become hypoxic and may not realize what is occurring,” says Kathleen Sieperman, MedAire’s vice president of education services.  “Through proper training and by actually experiencing and recognizing their individual symptoms from the effects of hypoxia, students will be better prepared for an actual emergency situation.”

MedAire’s instructor-led Altitude Physiology Training with Altitude Chamber course can be taken individually or in conjunction with any other business aviation training program.  The stand-alone course lasts 5-6 hours and covers altitude physiology, hypoxia, oxygen systems, physiological effects of flight and decompression.  Once inside the chamber, students will receive individual hypoxia demonstrations and a simulated cabin pressurization loss.  The course also covers a night visual acuity demonstration as well as ear and sinus checks at various altitudes.

ASU East’s Altitude Chamber includes a cabin pressurization system that can simulate altitudes in excess of 40,000 feet.  Up to 16 students can be trained during a single chamber flight and two chamber flights can be completed in a day.

Altitude sickness is caused by either sudden or gradual loss of cabin pressure and can incapacitate pilots.  Symptoms include: blurred or tunnel vision, cryanosis, dizziness, euphoria, fatigue, nausea, numbness or tingling, poor judgment, loss of muscle coordination and mental confusion.

About MedAire

MedAire Contact: 

Brant Galloway, 480.333.3736, E-mail: bgalloway@medaire.com