Pilot's are human just as anyone else. Yet, they are held to a higher standard then the rest of the population. A pilot holds the public's trust in his hands with every flight, so it is important for him to be physically and mentally fit. Although, he may get sick and come down with a cold or the flu, but what about if a pilot is plagued with depression. Depression is just as much an illness as any other.
Currently, the industry does not have appropriate procedures in place to protect a pilot if he suffers from depression. He may be worried that if his issues are brought to the surface he will not only lose his job, but also his career.
Let's say that the airline industry has a procedure in place to treat a pilot with depression. Once the pilot is diagnosed and finds himself "healthy" again how can the FAA be sure that the pilot is fit to fly? These are questions procedures that are sure to be brought up with the future of the aviation industry.
The biggest case of a pilot with depression lately is the Germanwings 9525 crash with pilot Andreas Lubitz. Lubitz crashed an Airbus A320 into the French Alps killing 150 people. This was a clear and deliberate murder suicide. Andreas had a history of depression and was originally denied a medical because of that. After receiving treatment he was deemed fit to fly, but that was not true. (Bruer and Marsh, 2015) Lubitz was said to have "reactive depression". This is a psychological state occassioned directly by an intensely sad situation, relived by removal of, alteration of, or response to the external situation. (Farlex n.d.) He must have had a traumatic event in his life that lead him down this terrible path. So one may ask how Lubitz received his medical after admitting he had depression. He went through treatment and talked to a professional who decided that he would be a safe pilot. After he was cleared to fly Lubitz basically self-monitoring his depression. There were no follow-ups to judge the progression of his health. I believe this is where the system failed. If a person is diagnosed with depression then they should have follow up appointments with a professional for the rest of there life. If this was added to the system then I am sure issues of mass suicide such as this would not arise.
The aviation industry is taking strides in the right direction following this accident. 350 pilots in the last five years have been grounded due to mental illness. The number of diagnosed mental illness cases has increased by 66% over these five years. This increase is due to the new regulations that allow aircrew to regain there medical certificate, once they have made a full recovery of a depressive illness. (Mathew, 2015) This is an incredible improvement for not only the aviation industry, but also against the illness that is depression.
Depression was no doubt a part of the cause in the Germanwings crash, but a murder-suicide is cause from a greater mental illness than just depression. Even before investigators inferred the cause of flight may be from mental status the media was looking at the depression from Lubitz past. This is troubling because it counteracts the idea that people can't change. It's a very cynical approach. People can change and overcome depression that they may have at a point in time. (Feldman, 2015) With more knowledge of depression and how to treat it, our industry will become safer and healthier.
References:
Bruer, W. & Marsh, R. (2015, April 30) FAA questioning mental health of germanwings pilot. CNN Politics. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/29/politics/germanwings-pilot-faa-mental-health/
reactive depression. (n.d.) Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary (2012). Retrieved from http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/reactive+depression
Mathew, S. (2015, July 27) 350 british pilots grounded in the last five years because of mental illness, figures released after germanwings crash show. Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3176861/Review-British-pilots-mental-health-wake-Germanwings-disaster-finds-350-grounded-past-five-years-276-returned-skies.html
Feldman, D. (2015, June 8) Is it right to blame depression for the crash of germanwings flight 9525. Huffpost Healthy Living. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-feldman/is-it-right-to-blame-depression-for-the-crash-of-germanwings-flight-9525_b_7011660.html
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