CNN –
Richard Wesmoreland says being an airline pilot was great at first.
But the repeated, day-long trips away from home — shuttling back and forth between his home near Houston and the Detroit-based crew of regional airline SkyWest — began to put a strain on his new marriage and himself.
“The lifestyle took a toll on me mentally,” says Westmoreland, now 37. “I found myself in kind of a dire situation.”
So the flight attendant-turned-pilot decided to end his career on his terms, out of a fear shared by many pilots that getting help for his depression would lead to the Federal Aviation Administration ending his career for him would.
Westmoreland is just one of countless commercial pilots now calling on the FAA – which certifies that civilian pilots in the United States are fit to fly – to address what he says is “decades overdue” mental health reform.
That refrain reached its climax this week when Joseph D. Emerson of California was charged with attempting to crash an Alaska Airlines plane. The 44-year-old captain was off-duty in the jump cockpit seat between Seattle and San Francisco when Emerson said, “I’m not feeling well” and pulled on both of the Embraer 175’s engine fire extinguisher handles, according to court documents. which – without the crew’s quick intervention – would have turned the 24-ton jet into an engineless glider.
Emerson later told police that he had not slept in 40 hours, had recently experimented with “magic mushrooms” and had been depressed for months, if not years.
Without a medical examination and a certificate from the FAA, pilots are banned from flying. Commercial airline pilots are required to have a so-called first-class medical certificate, which requires pilots age 40 and younger to visit an FAA-designated doctor, called an aeromedical examiner, every 12 months. Older pilots must undergo an exam every six months. On the examination forms submitted to the FAA, pilots must self-report information about “mental disorders of any kind.” Depression, anxiety, etc.”
The lead aeromedical examiner Dr. Brent Blue said a pilot disclosing treatment for depression could result in being denied a medical certificate, resulting in “an incredible morass of paperwork,” specialized doctor visits and case-by-case reassessments by the FAA costing thousands dollars and lasts more than a year.
“The FAA is essentially encouraging people not to report problems,” said Blue, who has 40 years of experience and the advanced FAA knowledge of screening pilots with alcohol or drug histories.
The FAA told CNN in a statement that it has “invested resources to eliminate the stigma,” adding: “The FAA encourages pilots to seek help if they are suffering from a mental illness, as most if they are treated will not disqualify a pilot from flying.” ”
The authority’s top medical official, the federal air surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup, declined Leave a Comment by a speaker. In an FAA podcast posted online earlier this year, Northrup urged pilots with mental health issues to “get help early” and said her office would “do everything in our power to get to a ‘Yes.’ “To get there and at the same time obtain permission to fly” if pilots want permission to fly and ensure the safety of the national airspace.”
The government’s leading aviation safety advocate is joining growing calls for change.
“You lie and fly or you’ll be turned away,” Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told CNN, calling the FAA’s system for certifying pilots “secretive.”
Homendy – speaking publicly for the first time on the issue – said the current rules had created a stigma where pilots with easily treatable mental health issues were left without help at all. Homendy said some pilots are even afraid to see a therapist, citing FAA rules.
“You’ve created a situation where people are ashamed – or silenced – and don’t seek help,” Homendy said.
The FAA’s language is blunt. The agency says it will “revoke a pilot’s medical certificate if it becomes aware of significant mental health issues.” Pilots found to have lied to the FAA face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The result, according to a University of North Dakota study, is that more than half of pilots avoid seeking medical care because they fear losing their medical certificate. The neurologist and researcher Dr. William Hoffman credited the FAA with developing the structure that made commercial aviation in the United States “extraordinarily safe.” He said the question now is how to maintain its safety record while changing its approach to mental health.
“Saying I have depression means something very different in 1995 than it does in 2023,” Hoffman said.
Terror in the air: Pilot, who was not on duty, tried to switch off the engine power in the middle of the flight
The self-described “nervous breakdown” the Alaska Airlines pilot allegedly suffered was not the first incident to spark broader discussion about the mental health treatment of commercial pilots.
The pilot who flew Germanwings Flight 9525 into a mountainside, killing 150 people, was asked by doctors to seek treatment in a psychiatric clinic two weeks before the crash in March 2015, according to investigators. But confidentiality rules there prevented doctors from reporting their findings to the airline or authorities, and investigators found that none of the pilot’s colleagues considered him unfit to fly.
The mental health of a Malaysia Airlines pilot was examined as part of the investigation into the 2014 Flight 370 disappearance, which killed 239 people. Investigators said they found no evidence of psychological concerns for the pilot in command.
The FAA issued a report after the two tragedies – a rarity after incidents abroad – and concluded that the agency should encourage pilots to self-report mental health issues and create a climate in which “early reporting, appropriate Treatment and a quick return to the flight deck are important. “Expectation.”
However, the committee advised against “incorporating psychological testing into the recruitment process or routine medical examinations,” saying there was no data to support such an approach.
Pilots say stress levels have only increased in recent years, compounded by the coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate impact on the airline industry. Flight schedules are less reliable due to labor shortages and pilots have less confidence that they will get home on time.
“These are all extra drops for someone who may already be on their knees,” said Capt. Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots.
The NTSB’s Homendy fears the labor shortage will worsen because of the FAA rules. She said the FAA could deny a medical certificate to aspiring pilots coming of age if they had a history of taking medication for attention deficit disorder as children.
“Like any disease, health impacts aviation industry personnel no differently than the rest of the world,” Homendy said. “We can’t expect people to be superwomen or supermen.”
There are opportunities for pilots to discuss the serious issues facing them.
Several pilot unions offer peer support programs where pilots volunteer to lend a listening ear. The Air Line Pilots Association says its Pilot Peer Support is available 24/7 for pilots who are experiencing “financial problems, family or relationship problems, or other professional or personal issues.”
The safety precautions ensure that passengers feel comfortable in the cabin, pilots say. Chief among them are two pilots in each cockpit of an airliner.
“Two pilots, the support system and the way a pilot is trained are all things that keep you safe,” Tajer said.
With a new FAA administrator sworn in this week, Homendy said she is launching a series of conversations about aviation and mental health that will encourage the agency to think differently his approach.
Experts say the agency can start by looking closely at where pilots are located.
“Honestly, if a commercial pilot doesn’t feel stressed or depressed at some point in their career, then there’s something wrong with them,” said Blue, the senior aviation medical manager. “It’s a tough job and a tough lifestyle for a lot of people.”