Story ID: 
GAO: FAA Should Better Address Pilot Mental Issues
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: GAO review calls for removing barriers and for better policy on pilot mental health
Word Count: 221
A recently released Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of the FAA’s program to evaluate pilots with mental health challenges over the last eight years concluded that “opportunities exist to further mitigate safety risks.” The FAA’s ability to lessen risks is “limited by pilots’ reluctance to disclose mental health conditions,” said the review, which focused primarily on airline pilots.
According to the FAA and aviation industry officials, the primary factors that discourage pilots from reporting mental health conditions are the stigma associated with these issues, the potential impact on their careers, and fear of financial hardship. “Addressing these barriers is critical for FAA to mitigate potential aviation safety risks,” the review said. 
As such, the FAA concurred with two recommendations: “to work with airlines, airline pilot unions, and the aerospace medical community to conduct an assessment to identify ways to address barriers that discourage pilots from disclosing and seeking treatment for mental health conditions, and to develop and implement policy and protocol revisions recommended in the assessment.” 
The review was undertaken at the behest of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) in April 2015, one month after the Germanwings fatal crash that was determined to have been deliberately caused by a copilot with a long history of depression and other mental issues.