Pilots Fly the Friendly Skies

April 7th, 2010. By janem

Pilots on Prozac give a whole new meaning to “Flying the Friendly Skies”. Thankfully, Federal Aviation Administration officials have decided that pilots on antidepressants do not pose a safety hazard-and therefore do not contribute to plane crashes— as previously thought. As of April 5^th, about 10,000 pilots can come clean and disclose the fact that they are taking drugs to fight depression without recrimination.

I think this is the right policy. We know how easy it is to get meds online and I would feel much more reassured if pilots, or any professional person for that matter, were prescribed the right type and amount of medication by a health professional.

According to a Columbia University report from 2005, as many as 10 percent of Americans are taking an antidepressant. So it’s a reasonable inference that many professionals who could affect our well-being and even our lives-from doctors and dentists to firemen to paramedics and pilots-are included in this 10 percent. Why single out pilots? I’d rather have my life in the hands of a calm captain rather than a raving lunatic.

Critics of the new policy will likely point to the side effects of anti-depressants that CAN include hallucinations, insomnia, nausea, headache, diarrhea, anxiety, loss of coordination, dizziness, tremor and even suicidal thoughts. On the other hand, depression can be debilitating to the point of not being able to function. To the point of not being able to work. But the biggest risk from these meds was believed to be drowsiness. Now, the FAA says drowsiness is not an issue. But it is an issue, although not due to meds.

Recent news has made the public aware that pilot fatigue contributes to drowsiness but if the FAA is so concerned about pilots nodding off, why don’t they put a stop to flying more than 12 hours at a stretch? Perhaps pilot fatigue leads to depression. Wouldn’t you be depressed if you worked such long hours that you had to live in a trailer at LAX?

In the coming months, it will be interesting to see how many pilots will “come out”, and if a new policy adresses pilot fatigue.

This was posted on Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Emerging Issues . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.