FAA forms rulemaking committee to examine pilot mental health

The FAA announced Thursday it would establish a Pilot Mental Health Aviation Rulemaking Committee to provide recommendations to tear down the barriers preventing pilots from coming forward and reporting mental health issues. After an off-duty pilot suffering from depression attempted to shut off a plane's engines midflight, national attention has focused on the state of mental health in aviation and the barriers and regulations that make it harder for pilots to disclose a diagnosis or even seek treatment. The FAA has faced criticism over the strict standards imposed on pilots and the fear of losing a career many face when dealing with a mental health crisis. "Mental health care has made great strides in recent years, and we want to make sure the FAA is considering those advances when we evaluate the health of pilots," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said.RELATED STORIES:A look at flight deck security after pilot arrested for shut-down threatMental health in aviation - how the FAA is changing views on mental illness Pilots are required to report some mental health conditions to the aviation medical examiner. The FAA has made recent efforts to expand the number of approved medications, including SSRIs like Zoloft, Prozac and Lexapro. Mental health problems are often seen as the end of the road for a pilot's career, but with new information on how mental health can be treated and how it impacts the individual, this is not always the case. In order to receive a second-class airman medical certificate, the pilot must not have a history or diagnosis of a severe personality disorder, psychosis, bipolar disorder or substance dependence/abuse. There are common symptoms that may hinder a person from getting a license like delusions, hallucinations, disorganized behavior or impaired judgment. The newly formed ARC will include medical experts and labor representatives and the FAA will finalize the charter for the committee and appoint a panel of experts in the following weeks. This will build upon previous work done in prioritizing pilot mental health. The FAA has increased mental health training for medical examiners, supported research and clinical studies on pilot mental health, hired additional mental health professionals to expand in-house expertise and decrease the wait times for return-to-fly decisions, completed clinical research and changed policy to decrease the frequency of cognitive testing for pilots on medications, and increased outreach to pilot groups to educate them on the available resources. The FAA will be working with the ARC to address the open recommendations from the July 2023 DOT Office of Inspector General report on Pilot Mental Health Challenges. This report found that the FAA had "comprehensive procedures to evaluate pilots' psychological health." The ARC will provide information, advice and recommendations to the FAA with a goal to improve the outdated system and pilot mental health nationwide.JUST IN: The FAA is empaneling a first-of-its-kind committee that could recommend new mental health standards for pilots—the latest in a series of announcements from the agency following CNN reporting on the stigma that pilots face. pic.twitter.com/RcuUcn08Ra— Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) November 9, 2023 The agency encourages any pilot struggling with a mental health condition to disclose the condition to a medical examiner and seek treatment if necessary. According to the FAA, only about 0.1 percent of medical certificate applicants who disclose health problems are denied. Most mental health conditions, when treated, do not disqualify a pilot from flying. Regulations do require pilots to undergo medical exams every six months to five years, depending on the type of flying and the pilot's age. The examiner will look into both physical and mental health to determine if the individual is fit to fly. Mental health has long had a stigma in society and over the years, it has slowly begun to lift. In some fields, however, there are still concerns over the impact of mental health on one's ability to perform certain tasks. In a high-stress role like a pilot, the fear lingers. The industry is working to remove the stigma and improve overall pilot health amidst workforce shortages, increased air travel and growing safety concerns. The ARC will help the FAA to change the perception of mental health in aviation and provide necessary help to those who are suffering without putting their careers at stake.