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Former CNN correspondent Miles O'Brien has arm amputated after accident
CNN ^ | Feb. 26, 2014 | Elizabeth Landau

Posted on 02/27/2014 2:54:30 AM PST by rickmichaels

Miles O'Brien, award-winning science journalist and former CNN correspondent and anchor, revealed in a blog post that his left arm was amputated recently after an accident. "I wish I had a better story to tell you about why I am typing this with one hand (and some help from Dragon Dictate)," he wrote. The story is not, he wrote with bittersweet humor, as "entertaining" as an "out-of-control quad copter that turns on its master," or perhaps a shark attack or assassination attempt. What led to the loss of O'Brien's arm was a case of TV gear.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cnn; milesobrien; obrien

1 posted on 02/27/2014 2:54:30 AM PST by rickmichaels
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To: rickmichaels

Sad news. I worked with him in the 80s in the Boston area when he was starting out. Nice guy.


2 posted on 02/27/2014 3:01:28 AM PST by ClearCase_guy
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To: rickmichaels

Very unfortunate. I wish him the best as he adjusts to life as an amputee.


3 posted on 02/27/2014 3:06:37 AM PST by Tax-chick (I've forgotten most of those languages, but I remember the joke.)
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To: rickmichaels
sad news..apparently, a good/honest reporter.

4 posted on 02/27/2014 3:22:22 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun..0'Caligula / 0'Reid / 0'Pelosi)
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To: ClearCase_guy; KeyLargo
he's a (GA) pilot, wondering if he can still retain his certificate?

5 posted on 02/27/2014 3:27:02 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun..0'Caligula / 0'Reid / 0'Pelosi)
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To: rickmichaels

Miles O’Brian. I thought he was the engineer on Star trek, Next Generation and Deep space nine.

Sorry, couldn’t resist

I feel for him. He’ll make it.


6 posted on 02/27/2014 3:28:01 AM PST by lucky american (Progressives are attacking our rights and y'all will sit there and take it.)
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To: rickmichaels
"and the next day asked the hotel where he was to refer him to a doctor."

"After entering surgery, O'Brien woke up to learn that his blood pressure had dropped during the procedure. To save him, the doctor had made the decision to amputate just above the elbow."

I'd be more confident that this was a only an unfortunate and unexpected treatment outcome if I knew that the surgery took place in a trauma center in Washington DC and not in a rural hospital somewhere in the Philippines.

7 posted on 02/27/2014 3:28:39 AM PST by Sooth2222 ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)
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To: Sooth2222
not in a rural hospital somewhere in the Philippines.

This being CNN they can't tell the truth.

8 posted on 02/27/2014 3:43:30 AM PST by Reeses
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To: rickmichaels

bump


9 posted on 02/27/2014 4:08:05 AM PST by real saxophonist (Rock, Paper, Scissors, GUN! I win.)
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To: skinkinthegrass
You don't need two arms to have an FAA medical certificate. Nor two eyes, legs, etc.

What you need is the functional ability to perform certain tasks. It's known as a waiver of demonstrated ability and is issued by your local, friendly FAA inspector.

An instructor of mine always failed the color vision portion of the physical. In flight, however, he had no difficulty identifying aviation red and green.

10 posted on 02/27/2014 4:35:44 AM PST by billorites (nichtarbeit macht frei)
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To: rickmichaels

Man, that’s a tough break. Going to live with lots of regrets/what-ifs for the rest of his life.


11 posted on 02/27/2014 4:48:04 AM PST by nhwingut (This tagline is for lease)
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To: Sooth2222

Exactly. Enter a third world hospital for a bruised swollen arm, and you wake up with no arm. Ugh. Many regrets forever.


12 posted on 02/27/2014 4:50:54 AM PST by nhwingut (This tagline is for lease)
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To: rickmichaels
Coincidentally, just the other day I watched an old "Mash" episode where B.J. go his hand banged and had acute compartment syndrome. Happened to have an expert in the camp that saved his hand.
13 posted on 02/27/2014 6:08:28 AM PST by DManA
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To: skinkinthegrass

There’s actually a link from this story about an amputee pilot saying O’Brien could be back flying again “in no time”.


14 posted on 02/27/2014 6:13:08 AM PST by Straight Vermonter (Posting from deep behind the Maple Curtain)
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To: Straight Vermonter
oh! really?..thank you, shall read.

15 posted on 02/27/2014 6:32:25 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun..0'Caligula / 0'Reid / 0'Pelosi)
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To: skinkinthegrass

he’s a (GA) pilot, wondering if he can still retain his certificate?

Yes, with a FAA Special Issuance Medical Certificate.

Amputee

Bi-Lateral Amputee Wins Aeromedical Certification

Veteran Pilot Gets Certified to Fly Despite Near-Fatal Crash Injuries. A former airline pilot who lost both hands in an auto accident, was fitted with two remarkable artificial limbs. Later, he applied, was tested by the FAA and given the green light by FAA physicians to fly. The Federal Aviation Administration certified and issued a Third-Class medical certificate to an airman with two prosthetic devices for arms, a “first” for the agency. This case involved a veteran commercial pilot who had suffered a major automobile accident two years earlier.

After extensive rehabilitation, and through the use of innovative prostheses, he decided to regain his flying status, applying to the FAA for a medical certificate. Through the Special Medical Issuance process, the FAA Office of Aviation Medicine is able to assess, on an individual basis, the appropriateness of issuing medical certificates to airmen who do not meet medical certification standards. This 47 year-old male pilot was the holder of a First-Class FAA medical Certificate.

Read at: http://avstop.com/medical/amputee.htm

Pilot earns certificate despite damaged arm

http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2013/November/12/Pilot-earns-certificate-despite-damaged-arm.aspx


16 posted on 02/27/2014 7:01:38 AM PST by KeyLargo
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To: skinkinthegrass; Tijeras_Slim; FireTrack; Pukin Dog; citabria; B Knotts; kilowhskey; cyphergirl; ...

Another option is FAA Sport Pilot certification.

Question :

I’m a amputee: right arm, above elbow. I’ve had a valid state drivers license since my accident, but wouldn’t this injury disqualify me from a LSA-type aircraft?

Answer :
No, not necessarily. If you can demonstrate your ability to safely control the aircraft you would be eligible for a sport pilot certificate. If you need adaptive equipment or modifications in order to operate the aircraft you would be restricted to flying only aircraft equipped with the appropriate adaptive devices.

http://www.sportpilot.org/questions/afmviewfaq.asp?faqid=1396

AVIATION PING


17 posted on 02/27/2014 7:06:46 AM PST by KeyLargo
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To: billorites
"You don't need two arms...nor eyes, legs, etc."

The TACA pilot who landed a B737 on a New Orleans levee after a double engine flame-out due to hail only had one eye. He had been shot in the face while piloting a Cessna in El Salvador.

A remarkable bit of airmanship, argueably superior to the Hudson River landing.

18 posted on 02/27/2014 7:47:28 AM PST by diogenes ghost
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To: KeyLargo; Straight Vermonter
Thank You..Guys/Gals..(being safe. d:-)
Federal Aviation Administration certified and issued a Third-Class medical
certificate to an airman with two prosthetic devices for arms, a "first",
for the agency. This case involved a veteran commercial pilot who had
suffered a major automobile accident two years earlier.

19 posted on 02/27/2014 7:59:11 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun..0'Caligula / 0'Reid / 0'Pelosi)
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To: rickmichaels

Foisted on his own petard.


20 posted on 02/27/2014 8:31:29 AM PST by Organic Panic
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