The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold a roundtable discussion on pilot mental health after several recent incidents have come to light in which pilots apparently suffered mental breakdowns.
In a speech to the Air Traffic Control Association’s Global Aviation Conference, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy on 2 November said that often mental health issues among flight deck crew go unreported and untreated, leading to situations that could compromise aviation safety. She blames the Federal Aviation Administration’s arcane rules on the subject as the primary reason.
It’s somewhat of an open secret that current rules incentivize people to either lie about their medical history when it comes to mental health or avoid seeking help in the first place, she says in prepared remarks published by the NTSB.
Homendy’s comments come just days after reports surfaced that a Delta Air Lines first officer in 2022 threatened a captain with a firearm during a commercial flight. He was indicted on 18 October and is set to be arraigned later this month.