The Germanwings Flight 4U9525’s accident marked the
beginning of realizing that we needed to take a serious approach towards
pilot’s mental health. Flight 4U9525 was a scheduled international passenger
flight from Barcelona-El Prat Airport in Spain to Dusseldorf Airport in
Germany. On 24 March 2015, the aircraft, an Airbus A320, crashed in the city of
Nice, France. All 150-people died. After deep investigation, the crash was
deliberately caused by the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz. The first officer locked
the door, when the captain left the cockpit, and initiated a controlled descent
until the A320 impacted a mountainside. According to Joshua Hammer (2016), The
first officer, Lubitz, was diagnosed with suffering from “deep depressive
episodes” with suicidal thoughts back in 2008 as he first began his flight
training in the Lufthansa flight academy. In 2009, he “treated” and cleared to
return to the academy after being put through intense psychotherapy. His
medical, issued by German officials, was labeled “SIC” (Specific Regular
Examination) meaning that the mentioned above would regular be tested for
symptoms (Hammer, 2016). Lubitz had also lied on his FAA form by checking “No”
when asked if he had been diagnosed with a mental disorder illness. Lubitz’s
symptoms came back few months before he decided to commit suicide as he was
regularly claiming to be seeing things and going blind. He was put back on
heavy medications and failed to notify his employer so that he would continue
to fly.
In the year of 1999, there was similar case of suicide by the co-pilot of Egypt Air flight 990. The relief first officer, Gamel Al-Batouti, locked his caption outside of the cockpit and initiated a steep descend. The Boeing 767 crashed, killing all people on board. Also, a Mozambican Airliner was deliberately brought down by the pilot after he locked his co-pilot out of the cockpit and executed a series of maneuvers, crashing the plane and killing all people one board. Based on web-survey taken by a vast number of airline pilots, research indicates that 233 (12.6%) pilots met the depression threshold and 75 (4.1%) pilots have suicidal thoughts (Wu et al., 2016). The topic of mental illness among airline pilots will present itself heavily in the next few years, I personally think.
The Federal Aviation Administration is now taking steps towards an advanced pilot mental Illness screening. But as of right now, Pilots are required to take a medical examination annually or every six months, depending on their age. An article posted on the CBS news’ website states that "Most of the exam is devoted to the pilot's physical condition. Examiners aren't required to ask specific mental-health questions. However, they evaluate a pilot's mental health based on their conversation with the pilot during the exam. Pilots are also required to fill out a health form in conjunction with their visits that asks wether they've ever been diagnosed with or are being treated or taking medications for a mental illness." (CBS News Website, 2016). Airlines (some may vary) on the other hand, require pilots to take a psychological test prior the hiring process, but they are primarily personally tests used to discover whether the pilot fit well with the company’s way of doing the job rather than it attempts to uncover any mental illness issues. So, how effective is the screening for mental illness for pilots? I think the question is better remained unanswered.
The pilot’s mental health screening is mostly “self-disclosed” In which pilot have the responsibility of reporting such factors to their employer and the FAA. In my personally opinion, the industry is doing its best in trying to come up with more efficient ways to screen for such illnesses. We are moving towards and proactive approach regarding the issue. The airlines are now developing an approach where if pilots report any issues, they will not lose their jobs immediately but instead allowing them to take a leave to be treated and return to work. The FAA is also educating its examiners on how to recognize any mental illness when performing a medical. Perhaps the FAA is developing an actual mental illness tests to be given to those seeking a medical certification. Also, in the airlines environment and with the reporting programs under the safety management systems (SMS), there is a big level of dependency on crews reporting on each other’s action during flights. I, once again, think that such approaches might be efficient since if the FAA tries to make screen more complex; it will interfere with the privacy of those pilots as well as makes processes a lot more complicated.
In the year of 1999, there was similar case of suicide by the co-pilot of Egypt Air flight 990. The relief first officer, Gamel Al-Batouti, locked his caption outside of the cockpit and initiated a steep descend. The Boeing 767 crashed, killing all people on board. Also, a Mozambican Airliner was deliberately brought down by the pilot after he locked his co-pilot out of the cockpit and executed a series of maneuvers, crashing the plane and killing all people one board. Based on web-survey taken by a vast number of airline pilots, research indicates that 233 (12.6%) pilots met the depression threshold and 75 (4.1%) pilots have suicidal thoughts (Wu et al., 2016). The topic of mental illness among airline pilots will present itself heavily in the next few years, I personally think.
The Federal Aviation Administration is now taking steps towards an advanced pilot mental Illness screening. But as of right now, Pilots are required to take a medical examination annually or every six months, depending on their age. An article posted on the CBS news’ website states that "Most of the exam is devoted to the pilot's physical condition. Examiners aren't required to ask specific mental-health questions. However, they evaluate a pilot's mental health based on their conversation with the pilot during the exam. Pilots are also required to fill out a health form in conjunction with their visits that asks wether they've ever been diagnosed with or are being treated or taking medications for a mental illness." (CBS News Website, 2016). Airlines (some may vary) on the other hand, require pilots to take a psychological test prior the hiring process, but they are primarily personally tests used to discover whether the pilot fit well with the company’s way of doing the job rather than it attempts to uncover any mental illness issues. So, how effective is the screening for mental illness for pilots? I think the question is better remained unanswered.
The pilot’s mental health screening is mostly “self-disclosed” In which pilot have the responsibility of reporting such factors to their employer and the FAA. In my personally opinion, the industry is doing its best in trying to come up with more efficient ways to screen for such illnesses. We are moving towards and proactive approach regarding the issue. The airlines are now developing an approach where if pilots report any issues, they will not lose their jobs immediately but instead allowing them to take a leave to be treated and return to work. The FAA is also educating its examiners on how to recognize any mental illness when performing a medical. Perhaps the FAA is developing an actual mental illness tests to be given to those seeking a medical certification. Also, in the airlines environment and with the reporting programs under the safety management systems (SMS), there is a big level of dependency on crews reporting on each other’s action during flights. I, once again, think that such approaches might be efficient since if the FAA tries to make screen more complex; it will interfere with the privacy of those pilots as well as makes processes a lot more complicated.
Citations
A. (2016, June 09). FAA rules out requiring psychological testing for airline pilots. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faa-rules-out-requiring-psychological-testing-for-airline-pilots/
Holpuch, A. (2015, March 26). Pilots' mental health screening under scrutiny after Germanwings crash. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/pilots-mental-screening-germanwings-deliberate-crash
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
Wu, A. C., Donnelly-Mclay, D., Weisskopf, M. G., McNeely, E., Betancourt, T. S., & Allen, J. G. (2016, December 15). Airplane pilot mental health and suicidal thoughts: a cross sectional descriptive study via anonymous web-based survey. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-016-0200-6
Holpuch, A. (2015, March 26). Pilots' mental health screening under scrutiny after Germanwings crash. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/pilots-mental-screening-germanwings-deliberate-crash
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
Wu, A. C., Donnelly-Mclay, D., Weisskopf, M. G., McNeely, E., Betancourt, T. S., & Allen, J. G. (2016, December 15). Airplane pilot mental health and suicidal thoughts: a cross sectional descriptive study via anonymous web-based survey. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-016-0200-6
In my opinion the most shocking part is that Lubitz mental health conditions history was both known to the doctors as well as to Lufthansa, like how you correctly stated. From further, investigation it came out that some years prior to the accident, Lubitz family doctor, diagnosed him with emergent psychosis and told him to go to a psychiatric clinic. Furthermore the psychiatrists knew that Lubitz depression returned but they did not notify the airline regarding the mental health problems of the pilot. Germans laws are quite restrictive on assuring the privacy of medical documents of patients but its also true that they allow psychiatrists, in some circumstances such as when it is believed that the person can potentially cause harm to others, to promptly notified the employers. Now the following questions arise: Why did all of the psychiatrists that interacted with Lubitz failed to do the correct action of notifying Lufthansa about his depression? If the psychiatrists had properly managed the situation informing the airline about the conditions of Lubitz, would the 149 innocent people on board that aircraft still be alive?
ReplyDelete-Nenne747-
Ehab,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with how the FAA deals with how they test new pilots when getting their medical. Usually once you go in to get whichever medical you choose, the examiner is more focused on the physical aspect of the applicant and not the mental state of the person which can be a real issue. Does this applicant have any prior issues with problems like depression? Are they taking any drugs for treatment of illness? I believe that the FAA really needs to crack down on the mental state of new pilots more seriously than just having them check a box on a sheet of paper. What is interesting about Lubitz is that he got into Luftansa's flight program which in itself seemed like it was almost impossible due to their high standards. Only 5% of new pilots were accepted into their program and after a few months of school Lubitz left because of fear of failure? We all fail when it comes to check rides, doing grounds to furthering our knowledge or even forgetting something simple as a step on a checklist but knowing that we failed to recognize any of this makes us better pilots. Being scared to fail while you are flying for the airlines for your actual job can just add more stress than what you have to do in itself.
Hello, Ehab. I agree with your points in regards to the overall cost being to heavy on cargo carriers to implement and see any real world benefits. Some sources I was reading indicated that the cost of the new regulations would be well over $400 million to implement industry wide. Only companies like FedEx and UPS could afford these to be in place.
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