THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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How to keep SUICIDAL PILOTS out of the cockpit

How to keep SUICIDAL PILOTS out of the cockpit

LAST WEEK'S CRASH IN THE ALPS WAS ONLY THE LATEST OF SEVERAL AIR DISASTERS IN WHICH MENTAL ILLNESS HAS PLAYED A ROLE

The separate conclusions by the French and German teams investigating last week’s crash of a Germanwings airliner were shocking. They said that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, had deliberately crashed the plane into the French Alps, adding that he had received treatment for suicidal tendencies before he attained his pilot’s licence.

For anyone who has ever travelled by plane, the findings were a terrifying nightmare come true. 
Millions of us place our lives in the hands of pilots each year. We do so without knowing anything about their mental state. The possibility that our pilot may have suicidal traits will only be realised mid-flight, by which time it will be too late for everyone on board.
The strain of flying on a long trip can already be considerable for the average air passenger. Now we have the additional worry over possible mental instability in the cockpit.
The Germanwings case suggests that airlines know little more than passengers about the mental health of their pilots. The carrier that hired Lubitz was unaware of his suicidal background. Lufthansa, which operates the budget airline, said he had been cleared as “100 per cent fit to fly without caveats”. It later admitted to knowing that he had suffered an “episode of severe depression” during his training at the airline’s flight school.
 Several previous disasters are suspected to have been caused by pilots intentionally crashing their planes. As recently as November, investigators concluded that a Mozambique Airlines flight that crashed in a remote area of Namibia, killing all 33 people on board, was caused by “intentional actions by the pilot”. A 2014 report by the US Federal Aviation Administration found 24 pilot suicides between 1993 and 2012, though all involved small planes. “Factors involved in aircraft-assisted suicides may be depression, social relationships, and financial difficulties,” the FAA said.
Commercial-airline pilots undergo psychological testing, but aviation experts say it may be difficult to detect those who are depressed or suicidal. They say pilots who report symptoms run the risk of having their medical certificates suspended or revoked, so they stay quiet.
The first solution is for airlines and aviation authorities to adopt tougher measures at the training stage to ensure that trainee pilots with mental problems are treated appropriately and prevented from gaining their licence until mentally fit to fly. For working pilots, there needs to be more oversight of mental health via regular and more stringent checks by medics.
Another point of concern is the reinforced cockpit doors that were introduced after the terrorist attacks in the United States in September 2001 to protect pilots from hijackers. Locked by Lubitz, the reinforced door prevented the captain of the ill-fated Germanwings flight from re-entering the cockpit after he took a toilet break. Prosecutors determined that the co-pilot waited for his captain to leave the flight deck before disabling the keypad that controlled access to the cockpit. Although the door-lock override automatically switches off after five minutes as an additional safety measure, Lubitz is believed to have flicked the switch a second time during the eight-minute descent.
Airlines around the world, including Lufthansa, have brought in a new rule that at least two people must remain in the cockpit at all times. 
Now they must tackle the dangers posed by mental illness among aircrews. For the safety of air passengers and for the benefit of the aviation industry, they must find a way to prevent another suicidal pilot from ever taking the controls again.
 
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