Germanwings crash: Psychologist says job loss is a pilot’s greatest fear
Being grounded without pay for mental health reasons can further worsen psychological issues
Being grounded without pay for mental health reasons can further worsen psychological issues. PHOTO COURTESY: SPIEGEL
KARACHI:
A pilot lives an ideal life. He has a high-paying job, which comes with a lot of perks. The lure of flying around the world and the aura that seems to surround the person behind the controls of a jet is something one does not want to part ways with – at any cost.
While the debate continues around the actions of Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz, who is accused of deliberately crashing a jetliner and killing all 150 people on board, a Pakistani aviation psychologist spoke to The Express Tribune about the need to reform the commercial flying business.
“A pilot has a dream life and he is very scared about losing it,” says Naushad Anjum, an airline pilot himself who is also a member of European Association of Aviation Psychology. In the case of Lubitz, that is exactly what seemed to have happened, he said.
“Imagine if a pilot is found to be depressed and doctor recommends a couple of months of rest. Why would the pilot report that? No private airline pays a salary while the pilot isn’t flying.”
While vigorous fitness checks are a regular feature for a pilot, psychiatric evaluation remains a weak area, pilots say. Germanwings said that its pilot hid the fact that he suffered from depression and was seeking help from various doctors. Under current regulations, it is up to the pilot to voluntarily disclose the status of his or her mental health.
Anjum suggests that if airlines ensure job security, backed by an insurance policy, pilots would not have to lie about their condition. He also says that advanced Crew Resource Management (CRM) systems should be adopted by airlines. CRM is specifically designed to bring efficiency within the cockpit and among other crew members.
“Advance CRM goes beyond communication and identifies weakness in personalities.”
A graduate of the master’s programme in psychology from Preston University Islamabad, Anjum will be completing his MPhil in the next couple of weeks. He is also researching the effects of modern life, especially social media, on the mental health of pilots.
“Modern trends have overburdened our minds. It has affected our ability to control anger,” he says. “Everybody seems to be so happy and perfect on Facebook. When someone suffering from personal issues sees all that, he immediately becomes more depressed.”
Cutting use of social media, however, is not the answer, he says. “We don’t need to isolate ourselves. We need self-discipline. And modify some of our regulatory procedures.”
Another issue that has surfaced after Germanwings incident is the discretion of pilots to leave the cockpit. American regulations say that whenever a pilot is alone in a cockpit, someone from the cabin crew like a steward has to be present until the co-pilot returns. But the European and Asian aviation regulations do not have any such restriction. “In practice we do follow the guideline. But I think we need to put this in paper too,” he says.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2015.
A pilot lives an ideal life. He has a high-paying job, which comes with a lot of perks. The lure of flying around the world and the aura that seems to surround the person behind the controls of a jet is something one does not want to part ways with – at any cost.
While the debate continues around the actions of Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz, who is accused of deliberately crashing a jetliner and killing all 150 people on board, a Pakistani aviation psychologist spoke to The Express Tribune about the need to reform the commercial flying business.
“A pilot has a dream life and he is very scared about losing it,” says Naushad Anjum, an airline pilot himself who is also a member of European Association of Aviation Psychology. In the case of Lubitz, that is exactly what seemed to have happened, he said.
“Imagine if a pilot is found to be depressed and doctor recommends a couple of months of rest. Why would the pilot report that? No private airline pays a salary while the pilot isn’t flying.”
While vigorous fitness checks are a regular feature for a pilot, psychiatric evaluation remains a weak area, pilots say. Germanwings said that its pilot hid the fact that he suffered from depression and was seeking help from various doctors. Under current regulations, it is up to the pilot to voluntarily disclose the status of his or her mental health.
Anjum suggests that if airlines ensure job security, backed by an insurance policy, pilots would not have to lie about their condition. He also says that advanced Crew Resource Management (CRM) systems should be adopted by airlines. CRM is specifically designed to bring efficiency within the cockpit and among other crew members.
“Advance CRM goes beyond communication and identifies weakness in personalities.”
A graduate of the master’s programme in psychology from Preston University Islamabad, Anjum will be completing his MPhil in the next couple of weeks. He is also researching the effects of modern life, especially social media, on the mental health of pilots.
“Modern trends have overburdened our minds. It has affected our ability to control anger,” he says. “Everybody seems to be so happy and perfect on Facebook. When someone suffering from personal issues sees all that, he immediately becomes more depressed.”
Cutting use of social media, however, is not the answer, he says. “We don’t need to isolate ourselves. We need self-discipline. And modify some of our regulatory procedures.”
Another issue that has surfaced after Germanwings incident is the discretion of pilots to leave the cockpit. American regulations say that whenever a pilot is alone in a cockpit, someone from the cabin crew like a steward has to be present until the co-pilot returns. But the European and Asian aviation regulations do not have any such restriction. “In practice we do follow the guideline. But I think we need to put this in paper too,” he says.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2015.