Pre-intubation examination apparatus and method for generating digital pre- intubation examination files for assisting successful intubations. The digital pre-intubation examination files include personal patient details, facial photographic data, one or more standard exterior patient anatomical measurements determined from the facial photographic data, and a clinician's subjective rating of a patient on one or more of the standard intubation classifications. The pre-intubation examination apparatus can be implemented either as a standalone pre-intubation examination probe or a pre-intubation examination accessory for use with a commercially available handheld digital device, for example, a computer tablet.