Medical Equipment on Commercial Airlines

To the Editor: Dr. Cockerell's letter in the April 17 issue of the Journal¹ expresses his surprise and dismay at the paucity of resuscitation equipment carried on board commercial airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been accepting testimony since 1981 on the issue of just how complete a medical kit to require on board. Many foreign airlines carry extensive resuscitation kits, some of which include defibrillators. The question arose in part because of a dearth of accurate reporting of on-board illnesses by airlines. The FAA performed a risk–benefit analysis and concluded that a limited medical kit could possibly save.