Getting injured pilots back in the saddle.

• Position: Aviation

Aviators are expected to be in the best shape--physically and mentally--possible, but what happens when a pilot suffers an injury that affects his or her mental skills? The path back to the cockpit involves many medical examinations and neuropsychological evaluations. A University of Missouri-Columbia researcher argues that evaluators may be comparing pilots to the general population when approving their fitness to fly and this comparison might be problematic.

"Military aviators score significantly higher on standardized intelligence tests than the average person," states Daniel Orme, clinical assistant professor of health psychology. "Evaluators use aviator specific norms when they can, but many tests do not have aviator specific norms. On average, aviators perform at the same level as physicians, so these are very bright individuals."

This means pilots represent a unique population, making it very important to compare their test scores with samples from their peers. When pilots are evaluated after sustaining head trauma, they are subjected to extensive evaluations, including a battery of intelligence tests to determine if they can manage the demands of flying.

In Orme's study, data was collected from testing more than 5,600 participants over a five-year period at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Tex. All subjects were active duty Air Force personnel, Air Force Academy students...