An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot’s alleged attempt to shut down a plane’s engine in mid-flight is shining a new spotlight on mental health in aviation. For some industry experts, it’s not so surprising that the pilot’s struggles went unnoticed – or even unreported.
“We literally don’t have the ability to see a therapist, to see a counsellor, to get mental health treatment, to literally be human,” said Josephe LoRusso, a private pilot and director of aviation at Ramos Law.
LoRusso explained that the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) mental health policy is outdated – unchanged since the 1980s – and one of the biggest reasons for the growing pilot shortage. He said the FAA requires pilots to fill out an annual form listing the doctors they’ve seen in the past three years, including therapists. But such an admission could get a pilot’s wings clipped.
“Say a pilot loses a loved one,” says LoRusso. “They can’t even see a grief counsellor because it’s on the form, and then they’re grounded. So you’ve got two choices – you either get that treatment and lie on a government form, which is essentially defrauding the government, punishable by revocation of certificates, civil penalties, jail time. Or you just don’t get the treatment.
CBS News Colorado investigator Kati Weis recently spoke to an Army veteran who had his application for a pilot’s licence all but rejected by the FAA because he admitted to having PTSD from his time in Afghanistan.
“I feel like I’m being punished for being open and getting the help that I felt I needed,” Adam Lemons said.
It’s this punishment, says LoRusso, that leaves many pilots suffering alone. Despite years of lobbying for a change in policy, he doesn’t think it’s going to happen any time soon.
“It makes no logical sense to have aeromedical regulatory standards that are stuck in the 80s,” he said.
