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 […]

Mental Illness in the Cockpit

by Mark Levy MD Medical Director fpamed The New York Times lead article on Sunday April 19, 2015 was headlined “Germanwings Crash Exposes History of Denial of Risk of Pilot Suicide” Germanwings Crash Expose…t Suicide – NYTimes What is most shocking among the revelations contained in this article is that there have been rare but […]

Lufthansa: Germanwings Co-pilot had been treated for “deep depression.” Mental Illness Stigma Keeps Pilots’ Problems Hidden

by Mark I Levy MD Forensic Psychiatrist Medical Director fpamed Assistant Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, UCSF School of Medicine Two articles in the March 31, 2015 New York Times revealed that Andreas Lubitz, the presumed suicidal co-pilot who appears to have intentionally crashed a Germanwings aircraft into the French Alps last week, murdering all 149 passengers […]

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 […]

When Can Fitness for Duty Exams be Used by Employers?

Mark I. Levy, M.D. The reasons that companies request fitness for duty exams for employees are to ensure that they have adequately recovered from a disability or to evaluate the reasons that the employee isn’t meeting the level of performance required in their position. Determining when to evaluate an employee’s job fitness can be a […]

When Can Fitness for Duty Exams be Used by Employers?

When Can Fitness for Duty Exams be Used by Employers? The reasons that companies request fitness for duty exams for employees are to ensure that they have adequately recovered from a disability or to evaluate the reasons that the employee isn’t meeting the level of performance required in their position. Determining when to evaluate an […]