Vetting System for Pilots May Lessen Chances of Germanwings Repeat

The following article from the newspaper of the American Psychiatric Association is a follow up on previous blog posts on this fpamed.com site concerning the GermanWings crash, pilot depression and cockpit screening for potentially dangerous signs of mental illness. From the American Psychiatric Association’s PsychiatricNews: by Aaron Levin, 07 May 2015 No evaluation process is […]

Relying on Self-reported Emotional Impairment by Pilots is Inadequate Risk Assessment

Charles Saldanha, MD Forensic Psychiatrist Asst. Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, UCSF That the co-pilot at the controls of the Germanwings airliner did not fully disclose his mental health condition is tragic, but not surprising. The current reliance on self-report of mental health diagnoses and treatment is likely to generate many false negatives. People with mental health […]

Co-pilot in Germanwings Crash Alleged to Have Hidden Mental Illness from Employer

Mark I Levy MD Forensic Psychiatrist Medical Director Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP Asst. Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, UCSF School of Medicine According to a March 28, 2015 article in the New York Times, the co-pilot who locked the pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed a German Wings aircraft flying from Spain to Germany, killing […]

Is This “Parity” for Mental Health Coverage? Shortage of Psychiatric Beds Preceded State Senator’s Stabbing

Is discharging an acutely disturbed young man to the street, because there were insufficient beds in Western Virginia, “parity” for psychiatric illness treatment under the law? Would a hospital emergency room release to the street someone who came in with a life-threatening medical condition, say a heart attack? Yet this is done routinely with emergency […]

How Did Aaron Alexis Get a Security Clearance?

Comment by Mark Levy MD forensic psychiatrist & Medical Director at Forensic Psychiatric Associates, LP This is an excellent, comprehensive and balanced review of the behavioral issues pertaining to security clearance and how many of these were either missed or overlooked in the case of Aaron Alexis.One point I would add as a forensic psychiatrist […]