{"id":158419,"date":"2025-03-26T20:58:45","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T20:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/high-altitude-flying-and-radiation\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T20:58:45","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T20:58:45","slug":"high-altitude-flying-and-radiation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=158419","title":{"rendered":"High Altitude Flying and Radiation"},"content":{"rendered":"


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There is much concern in the pilot community of the exposure to radiation as a consequence of high altitude flight.\u00a0 There are FAA and NOAA pages that discuss the issue and the amount of radiation can even be tracked.<\/p>\n

There are two types of radiation to consider here.\u00a0 One is ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR), this is the kind of radiation that will give you a sunburn at the beach. Sunscreen offers some protection from UV and IR damage. The second\u00a0is gamma radiation (the type that also comes from x-rays).<\/p>\n

The risk for UV and IR is melanoma (skin cancer).\u00a0 Pilots and cabin crew (flight attendants) get melanoma and roughly twice the rate of the general population.\u00a0 Seems scary, but let\u2019s think about this.\u00a0 Although pilots flying general aviation aircaft might have some exposure to UV and IR, for flight crews flying transport airplanes the windshield provides the equivelant of SPF 99.\u00a0 More telling for us is that the rate for pilots is not higher than cabin crew.\u00a0 Cabin crew are often near any sort of window and zero UV or IR passes through the aircraft skin.\u00a0 However, both pilots and cabin crew do have a lot more opportunity to be out in the sun during the day than most people do (as they are working in offices).\u00a0 So the lesson here is that we should wear sunscreen when outside!<\/p>\n

Gamma radiation comes from space, and our atmosphere filters much of it out.\u00a0 When we are flying at higher altidues there is less atmosphere to filter it out.\u00a0 Sunscreen provides zero<\/em> protection from gamma radiation.<\/p>\n

So how much risk is there for pilots and cabin crew from gamma radiation?<\/p>\n

The truth is, nobody really knows, so the basic assumption is that we limit it as much as we can no matter what.\u00a0 However, that does not tell us much about the actual risk.\u00a0 There have, though, been several large studies of the issue.\u00a0 It turns out that of all things that pilots die of, the types of cancer that would be a consequence of higher altitude flight (gamma radiation) is not one of them.\u00a0 In fact, several large studies have shown that pilots have a lower <\/em>rate of the types of cancer that would come from exposure to radiation at high altitudes.<\/p>\n

What do pilots die more of?\u00a0 Two things, mainly.\u00a0 Melanoma and kidney disease.\u00a0 Now kidney disease is attributed to not drinking enough water.\u00a0 Flying dehydrates us, and we need to ensure we drink enough water to offset that effect.\u00a0 Melanoma comes from being outside in the sun.\u00a0 It is generally attributed to the fact that pilots do not spend 160 hours or more\u00a0 indoors in every month.\u00a0 While some studies indicate that the melanoma risk cannot be entirely attributed to our \u201coutside\u201d activities, there is no evidence that it is from flying either.<\/p>\n

Now there have been studies that show higher rates of breast cancer for women (cabin crew), but it is not clear why that is, and one study found that the increased risk of breast cancer was associated with the length of employment prior to 1971 \u2013 before the operation of jet aircraft by the airline in the particular study group.\u00a0 In another study it was found that the correlation was mostly due to fewer pregnancies later in life, although that does not fully explain the differences.<\/p>\n

As pilots we are charged with managing risk.\u00a0 How much risk do we add by choosing to fly at lower altitudes with more exposure to weather, plus burning more fuel so we have less margin on arrival?\u00a0 Those are real risk factors that are proven.\u00a0 High altitude radiation risk, by all accounts, is relatively negligible.<\/p>\n

So, is there some increase in risk?\u00a0 Possibly a marginal increase, but it is very small if at all.\u00a0 Other factors are larger risk factors, such as choosing to eat red meat or smoking, so if one is really concerned they should target those first.\u00a0 Flying higher (within performance margins) can save fuel and, as I\u2019ve outlined in previous articles, allow for better weather avoidance.\u00a0 I know which one I choose!<\/p>\n

For more information here are a few articles on the topic:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals.jamadermatology\/fullarticle\/1899248<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4511278\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Click to access v060p00805.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/ijc.27612\/full<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/23066624<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAbout Shem Malmquist FRAeS\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tB-777 Captain. Air Safety and Accident Investigator. Previous experience includes Flight Operations management, Assistant Chief Pilot. Line Check Airman, ALPA Aircraft Technical and Engineering Chairman, Aircraft Performance and Designs Committee MEC Chair, Charting and Instrument Procedures Committee, Group Leader-Commercial Aviation Safety Team-Joint Safety Implementation Team (CAST)-Loss of Control-Human Factors and Automation, CAST-JSIT- Aircraft State Awareness. Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, full Member of ISASI, AIAA, IEEE, HFES, FSF, AFA and the Resilience Engineering Association. I am available for consulting, speaking or providing training seminars to your organization. Please contact me at https:\/\/malmquistsafety.com\/for inquiries.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is much concern in the pilot community of the exposure to radiation as a consequence of high altitude flight.\u00a0 There are FAA and NOAA pages that discuss the issue and the amount of radiation can even be tracked. 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