Rule to Allow Pilots to Take Antidepressants
 

I have just come across this web site where a former Qantas pilot received $200,000 for being forced to fly.
Very scary and I hope that Qantas lifts their game.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/...194/story.html

The full story
Griffin v Qantas Airways Ltd [2010] NSWWCCPD 22 (8 March 2010)

Here is another case.
Anxious pilot restrained as Qantas passenger jet landed - National

According to Australian CASA, Qantas pilots can fly while taking antidepresants. Soon they will be employing housewives!

A year ago a Qantas pilot committed suicide in LA

All the links are at his web site approprately called, www.qantasjetstar.com

Instead of using 'How safe are the skies " as a thread starter you might have just used 'Pilots and anxiety'. instead .
Yes the skies are SAFE and 3-4 incidents over a given amount of time does not make it otherwise.

How safe are the skies?
Safer than the San Diego freeway system for sure!

USMCFLYR

Sounds like somebody wants to sell some books. This happened in 1979? Way old news.

How safe are the skies? The skies are fine. It's all those aluminum things flying around in them, that's your problem. :D

winglet

Airline pilots will be able to take antidepressants under new federal rules being announced Friday, though the Federal Aviation Administration says it will try to make sure the side-effects don't "manifest themselves" at 35,000 feet.

Under the prior rules, pilots were not allowed to take antidepressant, and any pilot who admitted to having depression or being treated for it could be grounded.

But the FAA hopes to encourage pilots to get treated -- so long as they follow certain steps. The top airline regulator has no idea how many active pilots have been diagnosed with depression or are secretly medicating, because the pilots have a strong incentive to hide the truth.

Starting Monday, pilots who come forward and admit they're taking medication for mild to moderate depression will be eligible for a special medical certificate.

"We know more today about the science of the medications being given and we know a lot more about depression itself," FAA administrator Randy Babbitt said. "The policy is changing -- I mean our number one priority is safety, and the public certainly has the right to know that everybody in the cockpit is healthy, both mentally and physically."
related links

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FAA Official Says Problem With Pilots Being Professional
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FAA Wants to Keep Bird Strike Records Secret

The new FAA rules will allow pilots to use four commonly prescribed medications to counteract depression: Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa and Lexapro. Others may be added to the list as the agency becomes confident they're safe and effective.

Antidepressants have a long list of side-effects. The most severe are also the rarest, but they include seizures, problems with eyesight, memory loss, hallucinations and thoughts of suicide. Babbitt said the FAA wants to keep those at bay.

"We want to make certain that those side-effects don't manifest themselves as they go under these medications," he said, adding that's why the new rules include, "a long period of time of evaluation and even when they return to the cockpit, (pilots) will continue to be evaluated the rest of their careers."

Under the new policy, pilots will be given a six-month grace period. If they come forward during that time and admit they're taking antidepressants, they will avoid civil penalties. But, they may be barred from flying for up to one year as the government undertakes a number of tests and evaluations.

Even after that evaluation period, pilots will be required to undergo psychiatric examination twice a year, in addition to the already-required annual physical checkup.

While there are no numbers available on how many pilots may be keeping their depression secret as they continue flying, it's generally accepted that about 10 percent of the general population suffers from depression. That could mean that 25,000 of the nation's 250,000 commercial pilots have the condition.

Babbitt said the new rule is aimed, in part, at removing the stigma of mental illness, much as the FAA began to deal with drug abuse and alcoholism in the cockpit with the establishment 40 years ago of its Human Intervention and Motivation Study.

"When people heard that there were going to be pilots who had been alcoholics returning to the cockpit, there was concern," Babbitt said. "But ... that program took a lot of people that needed help, they got the help and they finished great careers as safe pilots. And I think that's what this is going to do."

Babbitt insists the flying public will be safer with the new policy.

"When you get in an airplane, you ought to be comfortable that airplane is being maintained and it's being operated by people that are qualified and healthy," he said. "And that 'healthy' means physical and mental."

So it appears that the FAA has admitted that our career is depressing, and that medication is the only way we can be expected to cope. Now if only they would be realistic about fatigue and rest issues...

From what I know it is hit and miss with SSRIs. You try one, it does not work(which can be a total disaster). You try another, it works. So the doc gives you the one that does not work for you and you have suicidal thoughts or behavior (a common side effect). Then what? Will the FAA give you leeway because it was the medication? Or are you screwed just because you tried to get better and the meds had a negative effect?

Nump

This is a pretty big move by the FAA. One big concern has been how easily it is to be given a prescription for SSRIs by your primary care physician and the lack of followup. Docs give this stuff out like candy, and for some, the side effects are not good. Some percentage of pilots will benefit greatly by taking antidepressants. Now, with proper monitoring, they can keep their careers. This program will be similar to the HIMS program for substance and alcohol use disorders.

There is a time and place for everything. There is good reason that depression and anti-depressant drugs have been disqualifiers for aviators. This is not a good precedent for safety. We have a demanding job involving time sensitive decisions often with incomplete data. Having someone not mentally in the game is bad enough. Having a person with "blurry vision, fatigue, drowsiness, possible suicidal thoughts" responsible for cockpit duty is worse. We can't all be CEO's, professional sports stars, authors, or politicians. So why should we all be trusted as pilots? You want to have a depressed or medicated pilot flying you into LAX in coastal fog down to 100 and 1/4 vis? Suddenly an old style driving family vacation is more appealing. Screaming kids and all.

I feel sympathy for folks struggling with depression. I do not agree with putting safety aside to accomodate them at others expense. The medications themselves warn about operating heavy machinery. Just my take, but who gets an exception next?

There are different levels and types of anti-depressants as well.

A 2mg does of Lithium a day is a lot different than a 20mg dose of Prozac.

I'm OK with this in some circumstances...it's probably better than having guys who need the meds flying without them because nobody knows.

Why are Qantas guys so bummed out? Hot chicks, great beer, great weather. Sheeeshhh....

I wonder how many pilots these days are now out on company disability due to depression, and this is part of a move to get them off disablity and flying again.

Agreed, Lithium is an anti-psycotic and treats a much different issue than the SSRI's. Also the SSRI's are not just for treating depression but used for treating anxiety as well. I think its important that this be passed because as was said before, there are most likely many pilots that are already being secretly treated. Now that its permitted they can be monitored more closely.

As food for thought you can be disqualified for uncontrolled high blood pressure but even if you go on drugs that bring it down you are still at a muck higher risk for stroke and heart attack. Those are just as serious a risk as vision problems and possibly having a seizure. What about high cholesterol problems? Im just saying that there are many things that could cause health issue for humans and the FAA is trying to manage the risks with each one.

I am not really sure I agree with the FAA letting people with diagnosed depression fly airplanes, medication or not.

BUT, I believe Anti-depressants should not be on the no-fly list and I think this is a good move on their part.

Why? Because I was diagnosed with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) following a parasite infection. I tried all kinds of meds and had little relief. I went on medical leave for 6 months to be treated on Paxil CR, an anti-depressant. My primary physcian has great success treating his IBS patients with this drug, DESPITE the fact that IBS is not depression, the thought behind it is a mind/body connection disorder. In which stress (just normal stresses, like commuting, relationships etc.) can drive the bowel to disruptions. I was on Paxil for 6 months and my IBS nearly 99% went into remission. It was the ONLY drug that did anything to help. Problem was - no fly.

So I stopped taking it to get back to work and have missed quite a few days of work because of it. I am THRILLED about this change from the FAA and can't wait to get back on the Paxil. Not sure how long I'll have to be on it, but it allows me to do my job.

So before you throw your arms up about safety in the skies, think for a minute. Not all of those prescribed anti-depressants are actually depressed. I'm far from being depressed. Was just under a lot of stress from my job, an intestinal infection and some other things that threw my bowels into a very bad state. Thank God for Paxil, it got my life back.

I know several women who take mini-doses of prozac to preempt thermonuclear PMS...nothing wrong with them that should preclude aviation IMO.

Also I think the idea is NOT to let depressed pilots fly...the idea is to allow someone who is no longer depressed but may still need meds to ensure he stays that way.

SSRI's are long-term meds...they takes weeks or months to start working and you are not going to go pyscho if you forget to take your pill one day, or even for a week or more.

I assume they are not going to let people fly on lithium or heavy-duty or side-effect prone meds.

Come on guys,

One of the greatest things that has come along to promote your health and well being during your working years and retirement was the change from the "you can't take anything" to let's treat the problem. I believe one of the reasons why airline pilots died young was that they either didn't seek medical help or got it on the DL. There was a time when no high blood pressure medications were allowed. How many pilots lived for years with border line high blood pressures that any MD today would treat. When the FAA finally allowed them, it was a mandatory 6 months off and then a battery of tests to get your medical back. Today, it's a two week wait and any AME can get you back into the air. The only thing holding the FAA back on depression was a stigma that some even today hold.

agreed 100% with last two post.

Any update on this for CANADIAN pilots (Transport Canada), I've been forced to stop flying in 2000 because I had to go on Effexor and hook on it because my super doc din't let me finish the first protocol normaly, had to go back on a second protocol...