Pilot and Mental illness

Germanwings Flight 4U9525

     On March 24, 2015, First officer, Andreas Lubitz, locked the captain out of the cock pit and purposely flew the A320 into the side of the french alps, killing all 144 passengers and 6 crew members.

Andreas Lubitz had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies. After dropping out of the Lufthansa flight training pilot school in bremen. He was then diagnosed with deep depressive episodes, and was prescribed two powerful antidepressants to help. The doctor declared him fit for training again after 6 month but continued to treat him for another 3 months after telling officials he was good to go, with the same medication as before. German officials took a few months but finally cleared his student pilots license and medical certificate, with the exception that if he ever went back on the medication or on the lines of that, they would revoke any flying privileges. 

When he got to the Lufthansa flight school in Arizona, he lied and check off that he never had or was treated for any suicidal tendencies. He was then caught in the lie, normally sending that person to jail. However, they only asked him to come clean and give current medical history on his documented health status. He was given a second chance, and years later, was shown to be a huge mistake (Hammer, J.).

Suicide in the sky

     Unfortunately, this hasn't been the first case of pilots crashing an airplane on purpose. I found many different attempts on a site listed below cited 10 tragic cases of suicide by pilot. Captain Seiji Katagiri tried to crash a Japanese Air Line carrying 160 passengers. The co pilot, Yoshifumi Ishikawa, and the flight engineer, Yoshimi Ozaki, tried to fight of the captain. In the end, the plane crashed, killing 24 of the passengers. 

(10 Tragic Cases Of Suicide-By-Pilot)

FAA Medical Screening

     Currently, all airline pilots have to go through medical screening every year if under 40, and every 6 months if over the age of 40 years old. During the medical screening, doctors will ask questions to look for any signs of mental illness. The pilots must disclose any previous or existing physical and psychological conditions and any medication proscribed. Failure to do so can result in heavy fines.

     Screening for mental illness once the pilot has their medical certificate can be hard, most pilots would rather lie about anything then to say something and potentially have their medical revoked and not be able to fly. In the event that an incident occurs and points towards the pilots mental health, they will be instructed to see a doctor for screening. Also, the FAA can receive information from an outside source, other coworkers, family and friends, which will then direct the pilot to be screened and provide documentation on their physical and mental health (Fact Sheet – Pilot Mental Fitness).

     I feel the best way for the FAA to screen for individuals mental status is pretty much how they are doing it already. Looking at any previous documentation the individual may have stating any previous concerns for mental health. Also, to push for pilots to look out for signs from others that they fly with. most people don't talk about their issues to people they don't know, however, may express tell tails when they are flying or even off duty while with other crew members before or after flights. Adding a training that would help pilots screen the people the fly and work wth may be one of the best ways to see the signs of mental problems before they become serious issues. 

10 Tragic Cases Of Suicide-By-Pilot. (2016, August 04). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://listverse.com/2016/08/05/10-tragic-cases-of-suicide-by-pilot/

Fact Sheet – Pilot Mental Fitness. (2014, September 19). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=20455

Hammer, J. (2016, February 22). The Real Story of Germanwings Flight 9525. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.gq.com/story/germanwings-flight-9525-final-moments