The prevalence of visual deficiencies among 1979 general aviation accident airmen

Analyses of the accident experience of pilots who were monocular, did not meet vision standards, had color vision defects and no operational restrictions, or wore contact lenses have shown higher-than-expected accident experience in previous studies. However, no causal role had been assigned. In the present study of accidents during 1979, the pilots with aphakia and artificial lens implants and the total eye pathology population had significantly higher accident rates, but the monocular pilots did not. Again, no causal role had been ascribe. There are still unresolved questions about the consistent operational performance of monocular pilots, those who are not fully corrected to 20/20 distant visual acuity bilaterally, airmen with near vision deficiencies only who are not required to wear corrective glasses, those without fusion, and several with appreciable pathology who have 20/20 corrected central visual acuity, but about whom we know very little concerning their dynamic, peripheral, depth, or accommodative function.