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Psychological tests for pilots cannot prevent accidents: experts

Every day pilots assume responsibility for hundreds of lives. But the tests airlines use to assess qualified pilots’ mental and psychological fitness for the job vary from country to country, are invariably perfunctory and can never perfectly predict how an individual will behave in particular circumstances on any given day.


July 21, 2015  By The Guardian

A French prosecutor’s allegation that the Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately flew flight 4U9525 into a mountainside, along with German media reports that he suffered from severe depression, had undergone psychiatric treatment and had a sicknote covering the day of the crash, have put the question of in-service pilot screening under scrutiny.

The International Civil Aviation Authority, the UN’s air safety body, is specific about screening procedures before and during training but lays down few rules for psychological testing after a pilot has qualified, advising only that medical reviews should “include questions pertaining to psychiatric disorders or inappropriate use of psychoactive substances”. Its guidance is not binding. | READ MORE

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