The Medical Limitation
A cabin crew member with eight years' service undergoes rotator cuff surgery. Six weeks later, the aviation medical examiner renews her medical certificate but writes the limitation: 'Not valid for operation of emergency exits or lifting more than 10 kg for three months.' Her CMC is valid for another 14 months, and her recurrent training and 90-day recency are current. The operator rosters her as one of four required cabin crew on a two-hour domestic flight with 180 passengers. The aircraft has four floor-level exits and two overwing exits. The operator says she can be 'extra crew' because the minimum complement is four and she will make five. The crew member says she can still do announcements and serve meals. The operator's manual requires every assigned cabin crew member to be able to operate exits and carry out evacuation duties.
1. Can she be assigned as the fifth, extra cabin crew member? Address the medical limitation and the operator's manual requirement.
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No, not as an assigned cabin crew member. The medical certificate limits her from operating emergency exits and from lifting more than 10 kg for three months. The operator's manual requires every assigned cabin crew member to be able to operate exits and perform evacuation duties. Being extra does not create an exemption: if she is assigned cabin crew duties, she must be able to perform the essential duties of the position. Serving meals and making announcements are not the whole job. The CMC is valid, but its privileges are subject to the medical limitation. Rostering her would put a crew member at an exit who cannot open it in an evacuation.
2. What should the operator do in the next three months, and what records should be kept?
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Do not roster her as cabin crew while the limitation conflicts with required duties. Assign ground duties or non-operating tasks if available. Refer the limitation to the medical examiner or occupational health adviser for clarification of fitness and the expected review date. Keep the medical certificate, the limitation, the roster decision, and the fitness review in her training and medical records. Before return, obtain a new medical certificate without the limiting restriction, confirm the CMC remains valid, and complete any recency or emergency-exit refresher the operator's programme requires after the absence.
3. If she travelled as a passenger on the same flight and an evacuation occurred, would her CMC require her to take over an exit? Explain the licensing point without giving legal advice.
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A CMC is not a general legal duty to act on every flight; it authorises the holder to act as cabin crew when assigned and fit. As a passenger, she is not assigned cabin crew. However, crew members are expected to assist in an emergency within their capability, and the operator's safety procedures may call for assistance. The licensing point is that she must not be rostered or used as cabin crew while the medical limitation says she cannot operate exits. Her presence as a passenger does not cure the rostering problem.