Are the Visual Acuity Requirements for Pilots in the Airline Industry Justifiable?

Abstract

The purpose of this review is to investigate and determine whether the airline industry is justified or unjustified in requiring a more stringent vision criterion than the Federal Aviation Administration. The new law established by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is applicable to this issue. This Act requires airlines to show that the selection criteria are job-related and consistent with a business necessity. This paper assumes that all such vision criteria would fall into three areas: safety, performance, and investment risk. The data indicate that pilots in the distant visual acuity range from 20/20 to 20/200 have nearly equivalent levels of safety and that pilots who wear corrective lenses have nearly equivalent levels of performance. The data indicate that pilots in the distant visual acuity range from 20/20 to 20/150 pose no significant investment risk. Therefore, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, if interpreted as its authors intended, prohibits such discrimination.

Author

• Gladish, William C Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University