A Proposed Framework to Regulate Mental Health in Airline Pilots

Abstract

The current regulatory approach to U.S. airline pilot mental health may have unintended negative consequences including healthcare avoidance and screening imprecision. An alternative approach should aim to address these factors while maintaining safety. The authors summarize the following related to mental health in U.S. airline pilots: 1) current regulatory approach and limitations, 2) available regulatory tools within the Sparrow fundamentals, and 3) a proposed novel regulatory approach. The authors propose the simultaneous utilization of multiple models to minimize the negative consequences of healthcare avoidance and screening imprecision. The proposed framework aims to address current limitations. Hoffman WR, Suh A, Sprott T, Manderson K, Snyder Q, Sparrow M, Tvaryanas A. A proposed framework to regulate mental health in airline pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2024; 95(12):940-943.

Keywords: aerospace medicine; aerospace psychology; mental health; occupational medicine; public health; regulatory design; screening.