Pilots and Depression

March 24, 2015 started like a normal day for most people, however soon lots of people’s life would be changed forever. On this day Germanwings flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps. The flight had 150 people aboard which all lost lives that day (Brown, 2015). The flight took off like normal from Barcelona, Spain at 10:01am on its way to Dusseldorf, Germany with a scheduled arrival time of 11:39am.  The aircraft made it to a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, and then began to drop suddenly after that. At 10:53am the aircraft had crashed in the French Alps. According to a CNN article that French lost radar contact with the aircraft when it reached 6,000 feet (Levs, 2015). The co-pilot was Andreas Lubitz, and according to the CNN article by Levs, “One of the pilots on board Germanwings Flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit when the plane crashed, a senior military official told The New York Times Wednesday, citing evidence from the cockpit voice recorder (Levs, 2015).” It was discovered that Lubitz had completed research on suicide methods and information on cockpit doors and there security (Brown, 2015). It was then discovered after the crash that Lubitz had suffered severe medical conditions including depression and was actually labeled unfit to fly, according to one CNN article (Brown, 2015).  After completing research of the crash it seems as the captain was locked out of the cockpit and while trying to get back in the co-pilot crashed the aircraft.

            The Germanwings incident was not the first accident that may have been doomed by the Pilot. EgyptAir flight 990 which crashed off the United States coast line in 1999, was other crash that was done deliberately by the co-pilot. In this crash 217 people lost lives, because of his act (Campbell, 2002). According to the guardian article, Gamil el-Batouty had just got in trouble prior to flying this flight and was told that this would be his last flight across the Atlantic Ocean due to his sexual actions. There had been a lot if discussion of what really caused the aircraft to crash and whether something was wrong or if it was done by the co-pilot. It was eventually determined that the co-pilot did indeed cause the crash, some say it was an act of revenge due to the fact the man who just gave him the punishment was onboard flying, but in any rate he was mentally unstable. The pilot obviously did not like being in trouble and for some reason thought that downing the aircraft was the answer (Campbell, 2002). I have no clue what this man could have been thinking in his head to do this, but some pilots could really break with a snap of a finger, which is a risk you must take.

When someone wants to become a commercial airline pilot or any type of pilot there are many things that person has to have done, not just the flying hours to prove you can have the job. One of the most important aspects is the medical certification process. In a yahoo article by Jenna Birch she brings up some of important aspects of what pilots must go through. In order to fly for a commercial airline, pilots must have a first class medical certificate (Birch, 2015). The physical exam cannot just be completed your family doctor, you must go to special aviation medical examiner to complete the exam. Pilots have to renew the certificate every year if the pilot is under 40 years old. Pilots must also fill out an FAA medical application, according to the article by Birch, she interviewed Laura J. Brown, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs at the FAA. Laura Brown then explained the process slightly, “the FAA medical application form includes questions pertaining to the mental health of the pilot, the AME can defer a pilot to the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine if he or she believes that additional psychological testing is indicated. All existing physical and psychological conditions and medications must be disclosed (Birch, 2015).” After reading her article it was very interesting because it doesn’t seem like this is enough. It is kind up to the pilot if they want to share that they might have problem. I understand that the pilot could be fined if it is found they had a problem and did not disclose it. However what happens if they don’t get caught. Like this copilot in the Germanwings it was not readily know that he had issue and if wouldn’t done this horrible things would he still be flying with depression and the airline not know. I think that it should be a requirement for specific testing towards some of these mental disorders. Also to have more random testing done, and possibly have other coworkers write up reports about each other and there mental states during random flights.

            When it comes to airlines having to deal with the possibility of mental disorders, I think all they can do is counteract the measure. Most airlines cannot really look into pilot issues like this, I would think due to confidential issues and that this issue should really be discussed with the medical examiner. I have heard that most airlines now require there to always be two crew members in the cockpit at all times. If one of the pilots must use the restroom for example, one of the flight attendants must go in the cockpit and wait for their return. I think that was a major step in counteracting an accident like what happened in the French Alps. This way a pilot is not by their self to even think about committing a horrible accident like that.

Works Cited

Birch, J. (2015, March 27). Germanwings Crash: How Are Pilots' Mental And Physical Health Evaluated? Retrieved January 22, 2016, from https://www.yahoo.com/health/germanwings-crash-how-are-pilots-mental-and-114767266237.html

Brown, P., Smith-Spark, L., & Pleitgen, F. (2015, April 25). Germanwings: Lubitz researched suicide, black box found - CNN.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/02/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/

Campbell, D. (2002, March 15). Revenge drove pilot to crash plane. Retrieved January 18, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/16/duncancampbell

Levs, J., & Shoichet, C. E. (2015, March 25). Germanwings crash report: Pilot locked out of cockpit - CNN.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/25/europe/germanwings-crash-main/index.html