The FAA's regulations require airline pilots to undergo a medical exam with an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) every six months to five years, depending on the type of flying they do and their age. Aviation Medical Examiners are trained to determine the pilot's mental health and fitness to fly.
The team conducted a survey of more than 1,000 pilots worldwide in 2019 and found that 18% had moderate depression and 80% moderate burnout. More than three quarters of the respondents said they would not disclose such issues to employers and 81% said they did not feel valued by employers.
US aviation regulators rely on airline pilots to disclose mental-health treatment when they undergo medical screening as often as once every six months.
FAA policy on depression and other mental health conditions. To fly, pilots must have a medical certificate approved by an FAA aviation medical examiner (AME). Under the current guidelines, depression, anxiety, and similarly categorized psychological conditions don't lead to automatic disqualification.
The prevalence of depression (12.6%) among pilots from our study is much higher than some studies utilizing identifiable surveys and medical records [19, 20] and possibly lower than another study [31].
Is Being a Pilot Stressful? Now to answer the most important question of this article: “is it stressful to have an avaiation job?” The simple answer is no, the flying profession offers many benefits that other professions would not get you. This eliminates plenty of stressful events from happening in your life.
“The ups and downs are constant, and we fly at all different times of the day,” Deitz says. “It's a stress on your body.” Takeoff and landing are the trickiest parts of a given flight, requiring all of a pilot's attention and mental energy. Heart rate increases during those windows, studies show.
The FAA encourages pilots to seek help if they have a mental health condition since most, if treated, do not disqualify a pilot from flying.
These medical conditions include a personality disorder manifested by overt acts, a psychosis, alcoholism, drug dependence, epilepsy, an unexplained disturbance of consciousness, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, and diabetes requiring medication for its control.
Answer: Pilots are trained to remain calm and deal with abnormalities or emergencies. The training is intense and intended to stress a pilot candidate, making sure he or she can make decision and execute tasks and checklists under pressure.
Psychiatric Conditions. The use of a psychotropic drug is disqualifying for aeromedical certification purposes. This includes all sedatives, tranquilizers, antipsychotic drugs, antidepressant drugs (including SSRI's - see exceptions), analeptics, anxiolytics, and hallucinogens.
This has been a real concern for many years in aviation, with some studies reporting that as much as 50% of pilots accidentally fall asleep during flights.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ), formerly called Attention Deficit Disorder ( ADD ), and medications used for treatment may result in cognitive deficits that would make an airman unsafe to perform pilot duties.
Pilots get anxiety and depression just like many other people do, but they seem less likely to seek support and treatment.
Bottom Line. A fear of flying is way more common than you may think, so if you're one of those people who feel their mouth start to go dry and hands get sweaty as the takeoff run begins, you're not alone. The feeling of not being in control is enough to make even professional pilots feel a little uneasy during a flight ...
Overall, becoming a pilot is a challenging but rewarding process. Even though flight training requires a lot of hard work and dedication at times, students have access to a wide range of resources to help them accomplish their flight training.
The lifestyle of a professional pilot can be quite challenging. Pilots often have to work long hours and are often away from home for extended periods of time. However, pilots also enjoy many benefits, such as flexible schedules, dedicated time off, and an above-average income at the airline level.
As a result, many pilots fly with incomplete understanding and control, sometimes contributing to our LOC-I statistics. These early flight lessons are where an educator has the greatest opportunity to make a difference and move the needle on safety, but it is also the hardest job in aviation.
A typical pilot, according to the study, is one who is “low in anxiety, vulnerability, angry hostility, impulsiveness, and depression. This person also tends be very conscientious; being high in deliberation, achievement-striving, competence, and dutifulness. He also tends to be trusting and straightforward.
To that end, there are many airmen who are able to obtain aeromedical certification with the FAA (of any class), despite having a VA disability rating for conditions such as PTSD, obstructive sleep apnea, and traumatic brain injury.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has a list of these medications that are not allowed for pilots who hold FAA-issued medical certificates, because the FAA has determined that they have the potential to interfere with the safe operation of an aircraft. Xanax is one of these medications.
The issue is that airlines are scheduling too many flights for the number of trained and current pilots they have, Tajer told FOX Business. It's creating an uptick in pilots calling out fatigued or who have hit the legal limit of duty hours, he said.
Working as a commercial airline pilot means you won't have to deal with a typical 9 to 5 work schedule. Instead of clocking in and out at the same time day after day, you'll have a more flexible schedule. This can allow you to plan vacations or other time off as needed.