FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said Thursday that U.S. airline pilots will not have to undergo psychological testing, at least not in any formal way. At a news conference Huerta said aviation medical examiners have been given extra training to spot potential mental health issues in pilots but there will be no structured testing program. Huerta said tests only capture the pilot’s mental state at the time of the examination and that’s of little value in preventing catastrophes like the mass killing of a planeload of tourists by suicidal pilot Andreas Lubitz in March of 2015. European authorities are looking at ways to beef up mental health screening for pilots.
Huerta said that beyond the AME training, the FAA is encouraging the development of programs to reduce the stigma of mental health problems and give pilots more confidence to self-report if they think their mental health is at risk. “We need to do more to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness in the aviation industry so pilots are more likely to self-report, get treated and return to work,” Huerta said. Deputy Flight Surgeon Dr. Michael Berry was also at the news conference and essentially said that pilots’ mental health was constantly being assessed through the multitude of health and currency checks they undergo to maintain their certificates.
