Pilot well-being & Mental Illness

1. Pilot well-being &
Mental Illness
By: Abdur Syed & Ricardo Sousa

2. Facts about Mental Illness
 20% of world pop. suffers from a mental illness
 800 000 people commit suicide annually
 Each suicide – 20 suicide attempts
 Mental illness increase the risk of getting other diseases (HIV,
cardiovascular disease and diabetes)
 Rights of people with mental illness is usually ignored in many
countries
 1 child psychiatrist for every 1 to 4 million people in
underdeveloped and developing countries
 0.05 psychiatrists and 0.42 nurses per 100 000 people in
underdeveloped and developing countries

3. What are the most common
types?
 Major depression- Leading cause of disability in
developed countries
 Addictions- another leading cause of disability

4. Understanding Mental Illness and
removing the stigma
 Please watch Youtube Video 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQbtDaJCi0M
 Mental illness is not contagious!
 Mental illness is like any other sickness
 Depression unlike just having a bad day
 Paper cut is like a bad day and a leg amputation is like major
depression, big difference
 Mind is part of the body that can get sick but is treatable!
 Only 25% of referrals to mental health professionals actually go
 Mental illness is not a life sentence, you can live a full and successful
life
 We need to move from the stigma to treating sick people

6. 5 barriers
 Public health agenda does not include mental
health
 Low funding for mental health
 Mental health not integrated within primary health
care
 Shortages of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses,
psychologists and social workers
 Lack of leadership

7. What we need to learn
 Mental illness is like any other sickness
 Mental illness can be cured
 Getting help when sick with mental illness is important
for recovery
 Warning signs should be reported

8. Stigma of Mental Health in the
aviation community
 Pilots face of a lot of stress :
 Adapting to changing altitude and time zones
 Irregular work schedules
 Fatigue/ lack of sleep
 A lot of changes in the aviation industry
 Regular tests – adds to anxiety
 Home sickness
 Financial issues
 Social/Relationship issues

9. Stigma of Mental Health in the
aviation industry
 Pilots who report symptoms or mental illness take the
risk of having their medical certificates suspended or
revoked.
 “Suck it up and do the job” culture
 Pilots’ reported rates of depression / anxiety disorder is
lower than general public – “suffer in silence” situation

10. Crashes due to pilot’s mental
illness
 6 Crashes since 1982
 Killing 572 people
 EgyptAir
 SilkAir
 Royal Air Maroc
 Japan Airlines
 LAM Mozambique Airlines
 GermanWings

11. GermanWings 9525
 Flight crash due to alleged mental ill co-pilot
 The co-pilot locked the chief pilot out of cockpit and
crashed the aircraft into the French Alps
 Doctors notes where found in the pilots apartment to not
work due to mental illness
 Spent 18 months receiving psychiatric
 Crash killed all 150 passengers on flight

12. Egypt Air 990
 Co-pilot crashed the plane as an act
of revenge
 Co-pilot was told he will not be flying
Egypt-US routes due to his sexual
misbehavior in US hotels
 Transatlantic routes are higher paying
 Chief of Egypt Air's Boeing 767 pilot
group who made the decision was on
board
 Egypt does not agree with the
findings
 Mayday Episode – Very Interesting

13. British Airways
 Pilot murdered his wife and planned to crash his
aircraft
 Wanted to “make a statement”
 Suffering from stress due to his divorce
 Called in sick - situation avoided

14. Pilot Suicide
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found 24 pilot
suicides in 1993-2012, all involving small planes

15. What measures are already
taken
 Air Canada pilots get a behavioural assessment when they
are hired and require medical exams every year, and twice a
year after the age of 60.
 The Air Line Pilots Association International evaluates pilots’
behaviour and psychological well-being by trained
professionals and medical examinations are done as
frequently as 6 months
 Transport Canada reviews pilot medical history to check for
signs of psychosis and suicidal behavior
 Airlines allow flight crew members to address concerns about
a co-worker’s behavior and actions
 Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat will now have two people
in the cockpit at all times. – Transport Canada mandated

16. What measures are already taken
 FAA (USA) lifted a restriction on airline pilots taking
anti-depressants to remove the stigma of mental
illness.
 Pilots get a special certificate to fly, but have to be
regularly examined
 Doctors or physicians performing compulsory annual
examination on flight crew must report any issues to
the government (Canada)

17. What are some solutions
 Create a dialogue about mental health to remove the stigma
 Policies and procedures for medical leave for pilots - similar to
maternity leave allowing them to recover and get back to work
 Allow pilots to discuss or disclose their mental health without the
fear of losing their license or medical certificate
 Follow up by airlines and regulators to see pilot recovery
 Airlines and regulators should know if pilots are in treatment for
depression so they can be monitored
 Make two pilots always present in the flight deck an international
rule not just in US & Canada

18. What are some solutions
 Additional and thorough psychological examination during
medical tests
 Provide pilots with therapy if needed
 Track sleep during flight assignments to make sure pilots
are getting enough sleep
 Better scheduling
 Provide sleep therapy for fatigue
 Provide all flight crew members awareness and symptoms
of mental illness – How to detect
 Teach pilots how to deal with stress during pilot training

19. Sociological theory relating
Conflict Theory :
 Higher airline management may not want to spend more
money on providing pilots with therapy and mental health
care
 Management wants to use pilots to their full potentials and
may not want to give leave or less stressful schedules
 Better physiological tests will be added cost to management
 20% of pop. suffers from mental illnesses, so remaining 80%
may not take it seriously

20. Reference
 Campbell, D. (March 16, 2002). Revenge drove pilot to crash plane, killing 217. The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/16/duncancampbell
 Crabb, J. (March 27, 2015). Plane Crash in France Raises Questions over Monitoring Mental Health for Pilots. CTV Winnipeg. Retrieved from
http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/plane-crash-in-france-raises-questions-over-monitoring-mental-health-for-pilots-1.2300726
 Mario Ritter. (April 02, 2015). Psychology, Stress Influence Pilots' Mental Health. In Learning English. Retrieved April 05, 2015, from
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/psychology-stress-influence-mental-health-pilots/2702704.html
 Mayday Air Crash Investigation. (n.d.). Mayday Air Crash Investigation S03E08 Death and Denial Egypt Air 990. Youtube.com (Channel : Jery Solfly). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o9Zy1ViHdM
 Monique Muise. (April 1, 2015). Canadian pilots subject to specific health rules, including disclosure of illnesses. In Montreal Gazette. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/canadian-pilots-subject-to-specific-health-rules-including-disclosure-of-illnesses
 Quan, D. (March 26, 2015). Suicide by Plane Extremely Rare but ‘Suck It Up’ Culture Exists among Pilots over Mental Health. The National. Retrieved from
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/suicide-by-plane-extremely-rare-but-suck-it-up-culture-exists-among-pilots-over-mental-health
 Rakobowchuk, P. (March 27, 2015). Canadian Airlines Will Now Have Two Crew Members in Cockpits At All Times. CTV Winnipeg. Retrieved from
http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/canadian-airlines-will-now-have-two-crew-members-in-cockpits-at-all-times-1.2298992
 TEDx Talks. (May 4, 2013). No Health Without Mental Health: Denny Morrison at TEDxBloomington. In YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQbtDaJCi0M.
 THE TELEGRAPH. (MARCH 30, 2015). British pilot who killed wife then planned to crash 747 shows airlines weak on mental health: victim's family. In The Vancouver
Sun. Retrieved Sunday, April 5, 2015, from http://www.vancouversun.com/news/British+pilot+killed+wife+then+planned+crash+shows+airlines/10931469/story.html
 World Health Organization. (n.d.). 10 FACTS ON MENTAL HEALTH. In World Health Organization. Retrieved April 5, 2015, from
http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/mental_health_facts/en/.