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On December 5, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the creation of a regulatory committee to review its rules on pilot and air traffic controller (ATC) mental health. The committee will identify and eliminate any remaining barriers that discourage pilots and ATCs from reporting and seeking care for mental health issues.
It must submit its recommendations to the FAA by March 2024.
On December 6, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hosted a mental health forum to review changes to pilot mental health rules. The NSTB, under US law, is responsible for investigating all aviation accidents and major incidents occurring in the United States.
During the forum, pilots told the panel they fear reporting mental health issues because they could be grounded by the FAA, in some cases permanently, and thus unable to earn a living.
The decision follows years of appeals from industry and government leaders, as well as the high-profile case of an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly tried to crash a flight commercial last October, claiming he suffered from mental health issues.
Commercial airline pilots must have a valid Class 1 medical certificate to fly and undergo medical evaluations annually until age 40 – then every six months until age 65 – to ensure they remain fit to fly and maintain their certification.
Medical standards established by ICAO specify which medical and psychological conditions can invalidate a medical certificate, such as heart disease, neurological disease, psychosis and diabetes.
Throughout their careers, pilots are responsible for maintaining valid licenses and medical certificates. They are also required to disclose any physical and psychological conditions, as well as any medications they are taking.
Pilots undergo a thorough assessment of their simulator skills every six months. Failing the assessment can result in additional training or loss of license, and these repeated assessments are a potential source of stress, as a poor result can result in the loss of the pilot’s livelihood.
The FAA says it encourages pilots to seek help if they are suffering from a mental health issue because most, if treated, do not disqualify a pilot from flying.
Certain conditions, however, disqualify pilots from flying, such as psychosis, bipolar disorder and certain types of personality disorders, according to the agency.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) describes pilots as a professional group facing unusual psychological challenges.
According to the BPS, professional airline pilots are evaluated repeatedly throughout their professional careers to ensure they are fit to fly. Few occupational groups are subject to the same level of oversight, and the assessment process begins at the recruitment stage. Pilots applying for a job with an airline undergo extensive testing, including psychological testing, to ensure they have the cognitive skills (thinking, reasoning, memorization), flight aptitude and other required skills to do the work.
Although psychologists play a crucial role in the selection process and often administer personality tests in addition to cognitive function tests. The mental health of airline pilots is not systematically assessed at this stage.
The working conditions and environment in which pilots work are physiologically and mentally difficult. It is important that the aviation industry recognizes the various sources of work-related stress affecting pilots and seeks to reduce them.
Pilots spend long hours confined to a small workspace in the cockpit. They must perform multiple tasks at 39,000 feet while enduring noise, vibration, reduced oxygen and exposure to cosmic radiation at high altitudes.
Pilots must work irregular hours and deal with frequent schedule changes and shift work, leading to circadian rhythm disruptions. Pilots must work with different colleagues on different routes each time they report to work and may have to deal with demanding situations such as in-flight emergencies.
In addition to facing the unique pressures of flying aircraft, pilots must also deal with threats from terrorism, working in an increasingly difficult economic environment with implications for job security and, in some cases, zero hours contracts, placing the pilot in an unenviable position of employment uncertainty.
Personal stressors occur outside of the workplace and can affect job performance. Pilots, like most people, have obligations, responsibilities and challenges outside of work, like everyone else in the general population, such as illness, bereavement and marital and family difficulties. If left unaddressed, these issues can lead to the development of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
Frequent absences from home make it difficult for pilots to establish and maintain sexual, marital, and social relationships. Domestic conflicts and relationship difficulties can lead to emotional stress, which can affect a pilot’s ability to concentrate or make decisions in flight.
Stress also disrupts sleep and can lead to increased fatigue, which impairs social and cognitive performance.
Some studies have linked interpersonal problems, financial difficulties and job strain, as well as mental health problems and pilot fatigue.
On October 31, 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, on a scheduled flight from Los Angeles to Cairo International Airport, operated by a Boeing 767-300ER, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 60 miles south of the Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, killing all 217 passengers. and the crew on board.
The accident was the subject of a joint investigation by the US NTSB and the Egyptian Civil Aviation Agency. The final NTSB report NTSB/AAB-02/01, in the Probable Cause section, states: “The NTSB determines that the probable cause of the accident of EgyptAir Flight 990 was the aircraft’s departure from normal cruise flight and its subsequent impact with the Atlantic Ocean. following the flight control actions of the relief co-pilot. The reason for the relief co-pilot’s actions has not been determined.
Investigators suspected the 59-year-old relief co-pilot suffered from depression-related mental health issues caused by being passed over for promotion because he did not have sufficient English proficiency to take the exam. airline pilot license (ATPL). , which was a condition for becoming captain.
