Commercial airline pilots play a critical role in the aviation industry as they are responsible for safe carriage of thousands of people each day. To ensure that they fulfill this responsibility effectively, they must be physically and mentally to perform. Following the suicide of a pilot on Germanwings Flight 9525 and the death of passengers as well as the crew, the mental health of aviation workers especially the pilots has become an issue of importance and concern for the industry. According to research by Bor et al. (2016) on “ Pilot Mental Health Assessment” , a pproximately 1 out of 4 aviation crew suffer from a mental health condition . One of the significant factors that have been implicated as the leading cause being occupational stress. This paper examines why mental health condition is prevalent among pilots and why it should be an issue of concern. It will also offer recommendations that can be used in the future in solving the issue.
Various professional bodies regularly evaluate professional airline pilots throughout their professional career to ensuring that they are capable of flying. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are some of the professional bodies that are mandated with this responsibility. To receive certification, pilots have to undergo rigorous testing including aptitude tests, cognitive skills that involve reasoning as well as psychological testing. This does not stop there as other competency tests are done regularly in the course of duty to ensure the pilots remain fit to fly. Failure to comply with all these standards often result to loss of license of operation and additional training. This kind of scrutiny is a potential cause of stress among pilots and subsequently depression. In the New York city crash of the Boeing 767 that over 217 people, investigations revealed that the crash was done deliberately by the pilot has been unable to pass some tests.
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Besides the extensive training and strict qualifications for maintaining a license, the working environment of the aviation industry is very challenging. Typically, they are required to perform multiple duties in their small workplaces. They have to endure specific hazards such as poor air regulation, exposure to cosmic controls and very loud vibrations ( Dickens, 2016) . Besides, they have to adjust their systems to long working hours, irregular schedules, sleep deprivation, and jet lag ( Dickens, 2016) . Sometimes this is not compensated by the free time they receive between their shifts, thus leading to widespread consequences related to mental health such as stress ( Dickens, 2016) . Within the aviation industry, this is a severe issue of concern following a Silk Air Flight 185 crash from Indonesia to Singapore that killing 104 passengers on boards as the pilot was suffering from work-related difficulties ( Dickens, 2016).
Not only do pilots have to contend with irregular working hours but they have to deal with demanding issues relating to system failures and other situations when flying (Benjamin Zhang, 2018). A study by the Boeing Company revealed that systems failures such air traffic controllers cause approximately 20 percent of commercial airline accidents and back up systems that sometimes goes unnoticed, despite improved technology (Benjamin Zhang, 2018). Similarly, poor weather such as fog reducing visibility. Pilots have to deal with this challenge each day and how to navigate them. This sometimes is likely to lead to depression and stress putting the lives of passengers at risk (Benjamin Zhang, 2018).
Some of the pilots are employed in airlines that have a low cost of productions. Others who are engaged in large companies have to deal with challenging economic environment, and the consequence is poor salaries and no contracts at all. According to research by Schmid (2018), on the state of the airline industry, the study revealed that some airlines especially state-owned record millions of losses every year. This does not only plague the airlines into complex situations but puts pilots in the unenviable position of job insecurity and job uncertainty. Like another employee in other organizations, pilots also have obligation and responsibilities to fulfill outside their work environment (Benjamin Zhang, 2018). They also have to undergo the same challenges just like the general population such as illnesses, marital problems, and family difficulties. These personal stressors accompanied by workplace pressure can affect their performance at work ( Demerouti et al., 2018). Thus, failure to address these issues can lead to the development of mental conditions such as depression and anxiety.
As shown, the issue of mental illness among pilots is an issue of concern and should be addressed to reduce increased suicide rates among pilots and accidents related to mental illness ( Scarpa Jr, 2012) . This can be addressed by increasing the number of psychologists in the aviation industry. While psychologists have played an essential role for decades when it comes to motivation of pilots and improvement of performance, their scope should be extended ( Scarpa Jr, 2012) . The extended roles should encompass evaluation of mental conditions among the aviation personnel, provision of general knowledge on how to handle depression and most importantly treatment of mental health conditions ( Scarpa Jr, 2012) . Apart from that, they should research the cause of mental health conditions among aviation workers. From the research, the management and the overall aviation industry will learn how to address systemic issues in the current system that are contributing to mental health problems.
According to Wu et al. (2016), most pilots mental health conditions go unnoticed for many years because of the inability of psychologists to interpret psychometric tests. Otto and Webber (2013) further assert that a rational assessment of the patient is often done by clinicians who are inexperienced and unqualified. To ensure that the mental well-being of pilots taken care of, it is essential to provide that the best clinicians and psychologists are employed in the airline industry. In future, all clinicians and psychologists working in the aviation industry should show a track record when it comes to experience in counseling aviation crew, membership with recognized bodies such as the European Association for Aviation Psychology (EAAP) and familiarity ( Scarpa Jr, 2012) . Similarly, they should be registered with HSCPC to protect the aviation crew from unwarranted assessments that may put the pilot's working capacity and future career prospects in jeopardy.
In the recruitment of pilots in the aviation industry after training, psychologists are given various responsibilities. These responsibilities include performing personality tests and cognitive tests that determine the suitability of the pilots in their jobs ( Scarpa Jr, 2012) . The aviation industry assumes that the psychologists will have the capability to disclose any mental health conditions that the pilots could be suffering from. However, this is not always the case as the assessment tests focus more on other health issues as compared to mental illnesses( Hubbard,2016). It is therefore essential to come up with more efficient and effective means for evaluating mental health and psychological assessment.
As mentioned previously, the leading cause of psychological problems among pilots is related to a number of job-related stressors. Further research also shows that fatigue does not only trigger mental health condition but has a negative impact on job performance ( Wu et al., 2016) . The role of psychologist to advise the aviation industry on the effects of environmental conditions, tight working schedules and sleep deprivation on the well-being of pilots. The aviation industry has the role of protecting their aviation crew from mental health conditions by employing more pilots to decrease their workload and introduction of flexible shifts.
The aviation industry should also focus on the importance of promoting and maintaining their crew well-being instead of waiting for problems to arise to solve them. This can be done through organizing mental health awareness in the form of workshops. Airlines should also offer courses that will help pilots understand the importance of maintaining their optimum mental health. This will not only maximize passengers safety, but it will also assist in improving the overall satisfaction of passengers.
In conclusion due to evolved technology, the aviation industry has become one of the safest and most reliable forms of traveling. Accidents no longer happen because of mechanical issues and other issues related to technology. Most of the aviation accidents and incidents are a result of human error and the primary causal factor being mental health conditions. The paper has focused on the various ways through which the aviation industry contributes to increased risks of mental health conditions among them being poor working environment and lack of well-trained clinicians. It has offered various recommendations in dealing with mental health conditions among pilots and how the current system can be improved to promote mental well being and safety of passengers.
References
Benjamin Zhang (2018). Airlines are making more money than ever — but they're facing a mountain of problems. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/airlines-biggest-business-problems-2018-4?IR=T
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Wu, A. C., Donnelly-McLay, D., Weisskopf, M. G., McNeely, E., Betancourt, T. S., & Allen, J. G. (2016). Airplane pilot mental health and suicidal thoughts: a cross-sectional descriptive study via an anonymous web-based survey. Environmental health , 15 (1), 121.
