This is Part 4 of my series looking at FAA policies with regards to the mental health of Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers. If you have been following my comments, you’ll know I consider the system deeply flawed. Current policies encourage vast underreporting of medical issues, resulting in large amounts of untreated depression among pilots and ATCs.
We can do better.
Today, I am going to discuss some of the most recent FAA attempts to address the problems we have been discussing. Specifically, the FAA has modified the processing of Deferred cases and, in a second policy change, may allow an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) to approve licensure where, in the past, a Deferral was mandated.
