Mental Illness and the Aviation Industry

            The Germanwings accident in 2015 brought the mental state of pilots top the forefront. According to the transcripts of the flight data recorder from that flight, Andreas Lubitz changed the autopilot settings to make a rapid descent that ultimately resulted in the aircraft striking the side of a remote spot in the Alps. The cockpit voice recorder recorded the sounds of the flight crew beating on the cockpit door after the pilot returned, probably from the bathroom. Also, just after the pilot left the cockpit, attempts to reach the aircraft were met with silence. The First Officer, Lubitz, had been grounded and had his training suspended in 2008 during a severe episode. (Huggler, 2017) He was later cleared to fly after he had recovered. In the months leading up to the crash, Lubitz was believed to be losing his eyesight. He had hidden this from Germanwings.

            Mental illness in aviation is rare, but there are accidents and incidents that have occurred because of it. Way back in 1970 there was an accident in Miami that resulted in the death of pilot. The cause of the accident was undetermined, but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) noted the twenty-four-year-old pilot had a history of mental illness. The NTSB reported this on June 17, 1970.

            Mental health screening for the pilot population at this time consists of a question on the health form that asked if they have ever been diagnosed with or are being treated or taking medications for a mental illness. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Deputy Flight Surgeon, Michael Berry, currently there is no psychological testing required by the airlines, but they are evaluated on how they handle stress during tests of their flying skills.(CBS News, 2016) I believe that a persons state of mental health is matter of privacy, however, when a person agrees to take a job that involves the safety of others, the company that is doing the hiring should have processes set in place to assess the mental health of those employees. In this instance I am referring to the pilot population. If I oversaw making sure that pilots were fit to fly, I would require a thorough mental health evaluation every six months.

            There are challenges to instituting a program that evaluates an employees’ mental health. There are limitations to what personal information an employer can ask for or collect regarding any employee. This is due to the regulation the Federal Government has put forth. Not only is it against federal regulation, there is a stigma in the aviation industry attached to admitting a psychological problem. It can result in being grounded or terminated. I am all for the right to privacy, but if companies made it mandatory to complete a psychological assessment to get a job it would be up to the individual applying for that position to decide if they want to comply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

Huggler, Justin. (2017, March 21). Germanwings suicide pilot's family claims it has fresh evidence that will clear his name. Retrieved January 25, 2018, from

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/21/germanwings-suicide-pilots-family-claims-has-fresh-evidence/

National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved January 25, 2018, from https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=2829&key=0

CBS News. (2016, June 9). Retrieved January 25, 2018, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faa-rules-out-requiring-psychological-testing-for-airline-pilots/