Pilots and Depression

1) I'll never forget March 24, 2015. I was going for my (at the time) daily run on the treadmill at my local rec center and all of a sudden the TV news channel simultaneously project a large heading, "Commercial airliner crashes in French Alps". I knew right then there would be no survivors but I as I continued my run I observed the news as little details began to unfold about the recent tragedy. Germanwings flight 9525 was scheduled to depart Barcelona, Spain and land in Dusselfdorf, Germany on March 24, 2015. Unfortunately this flight did not make it to its final destination as the A320 was reported to be downed somewhere in the French Alps 30 minutes after takeoff. Although the official report is not available, the details that have been released in the Preliminary Report by the BEA and those that are found on publicly accessed websites indicate that the co-pilot of flight 9525 intentionally programmed the aircraft into a controlled descent into the mountains. In the BEA report, at 9h 30min 08s the pilot notified the co-pilot that he would be leaving the cockpit and asked the co-pilot to take over the controls (assumed the pilot left to use the lavatory) (BEA 2015). 45 seconds after the captain left the selected altitude of the A320 on the FCU (flight control unit) was changed from 38,000ft to 100ft and the autothrust setting was changed to "THR IDLE" mode (BEA 2015). Both of these setting changes along with a change to a "selected" speed management of 308kts further indicate that the crash was deliberate. Over the course of the next/ remaining 11 minutes of the flight there were multiple contacts to the cockpit from various centers/towers/other aircraft/ and military to declare the A320's altitude with no response to any of them (BEA 2015). At about 9h 34min until 9h 39min there were periodical knocks/yelling/and "violent blows" to the cockpit door because it was locked from the inside (captain was locked out after he left for the lavatory at 9h 30min) (BEA 2015). Andreas Lubitz was refused renewal of his 1st class medical on April 9, 2009 by the Lufthansa aeromedical centre due to depression and the taking of medication along with that diagnosis (BEA 2015). Considering he voluntarily suspended his flight training on November 5, 2008  due to medical reasons and the fact that his yearly renewal of his first class was suspended for 2009 due to depression, it is clear to see that his mental illness was documented. Lubitz was able to get his 1st class medical reinstated on July 28, 2009 but there was an endorsement on it stating, "note special conditions/restrictions of the waiver" and a limitation on his pilot license that included "specific regular medical examinations - contact the licensing issue authority" which required the AME to contact the license issuing authority before the medical evaluation to extend or renew his medical certificate (BEA 2015). Upon reading the Preliminary Report from the BEA it appears that Andreas Lubitz was screened and documented for his condition and had to undergo yearly medical evaluations when renewing his 1st class medical certificate. Now how the AME's conducted their evaluations is unknown but in a TIME article it is discussed how mental evaluations are tough to judge because they are more difficult to quantify and are based off of yes and no responses to questions (Park 2015).

2) Hauntingly enough there was a similar suspected suicide 2 years prior to this GermanWings incident on a LAM Mozambique flight near Bwabwata National Park in Namibia. Almost the same setup as well, except that the roles were changed (instead of the captain leaving to use the lav it was the co-pilot). In this incident, the captain locked the cockpit door after the co-pilot leaves and changed the altitude preselector from 38,000ft to 4,288ft then to 1,888ft, and finally down to 592ft (ASN 2013). He (the captain) then reengaged the autothrottle and set the throttle level to idle as he began to manually select the airspeed to increasing numbers over the course of the recording until it remained close to the Vmo speed (ASN 2013). The mental health of the pilot was in question due to the fact that his son had died about a year prior to the accident and over the course of several months prior to this flight he was experiencing marital problems (ASN 2013).

3) Currently the mental evaluation of commercial pilots is conducted once every 6 months for those over 40 years old and once every year for those under 40 (Park 2015). According to Alpo Vuorio, the examiner "tries to see if the pilot is well, and it's not the easiest thing" due to the response from the pilot being either "yes" or "no" and the fact that it is up to the pilot to delve further (Park 2015). Most pilots are afraid to admit or claim that they are depressed or have even had thoughts of suicide because any mental health  problem will likely take them out of the sky. I think the current screening could be handled better or at least have the psychological evaluation handled by a more appropriately trained individual. In the TIME article, Park talks about how medical examiners aren't always trained in mental health, which could lead to them not being able to properly recognize the subtle signs of mental deterioration like depression or alcoholism (Park 2015). I think some reform may be needed in the questions asked (make them more open ended) and the way the situation is handled once a pilot is deemed or self-reports that they suffer from psychological conditions. Make it less of a punishment and more of an encouragement to improve and have experts who can help talk it out and through rather than instantly prescribing an anti-depressant.

4) Having a more liberal approach to the idea of mental health treatment for pilots could prove to be disadvantageous though. I can imagine the reporting system being abused in the airline world if a pilot just doesn't want to fly that day or take that leg that they go and claim mental illness. Now I know this seems extreme but if the airline would continue pay (why wouldn't they) as the pilot undergoes treatment, what pilot wouldn't take the option to "fake" depression just to have a few paid weeks off? I see it being used like fatigue was being used when it initially became a condition that could exempt you from flying that day.

Works Cited

Rep. No. BEA-D-AIPX - 24 mars 2015 at 29 (2015).

Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile. Retrieved from: http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2015/d-px150324.en/pdf/d-px150324.en.pdf 

ASN Aircraft Accident Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW (ERJ-190AR) c9-EMC Bwabata National Park. (2013, November 29). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20131129-0 

Park, A., & Oaklander, M. (2015, March 26). How Pilots Are Screened for Depression and Suicide. Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://time.com/3760132/germanwings-plane-crash-pilot-suicide-andreas-lubitz/