After an off-duty pilot allegedly tried to shut down the engines during an Horizon Air flight, the FAA’s policies around mental health are getting renewed scrutiny.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The National Transportation Safety Board is calling on the Federal Aviation Administration to reform mental health rules for pilots. That is after an off-duty pilot was accused of trying to shut down the engines during a Horizon Air flight in the midst of what his family describes as a mental health crisis. Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Jonathan Levinson reports.
JONATHAN LEVINSON, BYLINE: Joseph Emerson tried to pull the handles of a fire suppression system on an October 22 flight, nearly cutting fuel to the engines. About a day and a half earlier, the off-duty pilot had taken psychedelic mushrooms, according to his wife, Sarah Stretch. But those typically last about six hours. Between a friend’s death and enormous pressure at work, training on a new aircraft and stress at home from being gone so much, Stretch says he had been depressed for several months.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SARAH STRETCH: We would have arguments because I don’t understand the stress that he’s going through.
LEVINSON: Stretch says she asked him if he could talk to somebody, maybe take medication to help with his depression.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STRETCH: He’s like, Sarah, I can’t be out of work. We have to pay our mortgage. Like, if I go do that, I have to go through all these other hoops. Like, we can’t afford to do that.
LEVINSON: The FAA relies on pilots to self-report mental health issues, and if they do, they might lose their medical clearance required to fly. To regain that clearance, pilots must see FAA-approved specialists, pass a battery of tests and often have to submit their therapist’s notes for review, says Dr. Brent Blue. He evaluates pilots and issues flight medical clearances.
BRENT BLUE: It is not an easy process for them to get…
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