The FAA has established a Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Rulemaking Committee (ARC) tasked with providing recommendations on breaking down “any remaining barriers” to discourage pilots and air traffic controllers from seeking mental health care.
ARC participants will be announced shortly, the agency said, but the rulemaking will have a tight timeline, with recommendations due by the end of March. The agency said the committee’s work is intended to build on its previous work to prioritize pilot mental health.
The ARC essentially has five major areas of focus: factors that prevent pilots and controllers from reporting mental health issues; how the FAA should address a mental health diagnosis; steps the FAA can take to mitigate aviation safety issues during the time between disclosure of a mental health diagnosis and subsequent issuance of an aeromedical decision; how other civil aviation authorities address pilot/controller mental health issues; and development of mental health education programs.
Yesterday’s announcement of the ARC came a day before the National Transportation Safety Board’s aviation safety summit on “Navigating Mental Health in Aviation” being held today. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy opened the summit this morning expressing concern that the current rules are a disincentive for pilots and controllers to seek help and an incentive to underreport their mental health concerns.
“The safety risk comes from a culture of silence around mental health. A culture that empowers people to get the care they deserve to be healthy in mind and in body…will strengthen safety,” Homendy said, adding that people who do seek help can face a “frustrating maze of federal bureaucracy to get back to work. It’s an unacceptably long wait.”
The first panel featured the parents of a young pilot who took his life rather than risk his medical, and others who shared their stories of deciding to pursue treatment but have faced years of unsuccessful attempts to get a special medical issuance so they may return to flying. They also detailed the steep costs of this quest—$10,000 to $20,000. The panelists were hopeful that they would eventually be successful.
Penny Giovanetti, D.O., director of the medical specialties division for the FAA—who also participated in the NTSB forum—stressed that the agency hopes to dispel myths about seeking help. “But there are myths out there,” Giovanetti said. “We have a huge task in front of us.”
Giovanetti noted that pilots who demonstrate successful treatment will get their medical back. She said the FAA is looking to expand its list of acceptable medications to cover more involving mental health issues, and it has already begun addressing low-risk conditions. But she also pointed to the “elephant in the room,” which is the lengthy time it takes for special issuance, and noted that cases have significantly jumped since the pandemic. The FAA is adding staffing but needs to do more, she conceded.