The FAA is reviewing two dozen recommendations from the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Rulemaking Committee, stressing yesterday that the work of the group is building on the agency’s priorities for pilot mental health.
Release of the recommendations yesterday comes less than four months after the FAA formed the aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) as it grappled with breaking down barriers that prevent pilots and air traffic controllers from seeking mental health care. Established on December 4, the ARC was tasked with examining those barriers and providing recommendations on ways to break them down.
Broken into working groups, the ARC examined and made recommendations on the FAA’s handling of mental health diagnosis; the mental health screening process; barriers preventing pilots/controllers from reporting mental health issues; and education, training, and awareness.
Recommendations included creating a non-punitive pathway for disclosing mental health conditions and treatments; revising requirements surrounding reporting and certification/qualification surrounding psychotherapy, depression/anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder; ensuring screening protocols based on safety management system protocols; developing education and awareness campaigns; and modernizing the FAA’s information management system.
The ARC included people in aerospace medicine, psychiatric and psychological medical experts, and representatives from the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine, FAA Flight Standards Service, the NTSB, industry trade associations, pilot/controller representative organizations, academia, and international aviation industry associations and civil aviation authorities.