Dr. Petra Illig, MD, AME
Dr. Petra Illig is a board-certified emergency physician turned aviation and aerospace medical specialist. She holds her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine and has served as a designated Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) for the Federal Aviation Administration since 1984.
With more than 30 years in aeromedical practice, she has advised commercial air carriers, general aviation pilots and emerging commercial space-flight operators on physiological risks in high-altitude, low-humidity and pressurized cabin environments.
Dr. Illig is also a licensed pilot who routinely flies a tail-wheel aircraft, giving her first-hand understanding of cockpit and cabin operational realities.
At her Anchorage-based clinic, she reviews complex medical certification cases, including FAA “special-issuance” determinations for aircrew.
She has co-authored aerospace medicine chapters and research-based articles on cabin environment topics – including the effects of cabin humidity on crew and passenger health.
On Kuvola, she writes about cabin air humidity, dry-air risks in the aircraft environment and evidence-based mitigation strategies.
Her work helps professional and frequent flyers alike understand how micro-environmental conditions aboard aircraft can affect skin, mucous membranes, sleep, performance and long-haul recovery.
