How airlines try to weed out rogue pilots

{"text":[[{"start":6.75,"text":"A decade after a Germanwings co-pilot crashed a plane into the French Alps, the aviation industry is bound by safety procedures designed to prevent another pilot from going rogue. "}],[{"start":17,"text":"Aviation safety regulators across the world tightened rules after that disaster: pilots seeking to enter the profession now face strict psychological tests, along with annual check-ups that include questions about depression and suicide. "}],[{"start":29.5,"text":"Details are still emerging about the assault aboard Flydubai flight 1073. UAE authorities have said the co-pilot stabbed the pilot with an axe in the cockpit and tried to take control of the plane in a “terrorist act”. "}],[{"start":43.45,"text":"The incident, which follows millions of safe flights over the years, has raised further questions over how the industry monitors pilots’ mental fitness to fly. "}],[{"start":51.95,"text":"Pilots, instructors and safety experts told the FT that current checks may still fail to catch the tiny number of unsuitable people who apply to join the industry, or who develop severe mental health problems or adopt extreme ideological views over a long career. "}],[{"start":67.95,"text":"“It’s effectively self-reporting,” said one commercial pilot. “There are obviously right answers.” "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":75,"text":"Flying internationally remains a safe form of transport — “the most dangerous part of any flight is always the drive to the airport”, said aviation analyst Andrew Charlton. "}],[{"start":85.7,"text":"But several industry figures argued that this was down to broader safety procedures, stringent pilot training and the professionalism of those in the industry rather than to the psychological testing system."}],[{"start":96.60000000000001,"text":"Pilots must undergo annual check-ups that determine their chances of becoming medically incapacitated during a flight, including a conversation with a doctor about their state of mind, along with questions about alcohol and drug use."}],[{"start":109.60000000000001,"text":"Airlines also carry out regular background checks, which include looking for signs of extremist sympathies. "}],[{"start":115.9,"text":"“We do psychometric testing and background security checks on a regular basis,” said an airline executive."}],[{"start":122.80000000000001,"text":"But one working pilot told the FT their last full psychological analysis was more than two decades ago. Another said pilots “prepare” for their annual check-up and “answer questions to make them think all is well”."}],[{"start":136.10000000000002,"text":"Andrew McKechnie, who spent 30 years as a pilot and now runs McKechnie Aviation, a safety training group, said: “A pilot’s income depends on holding a valid medical certificate, so pilots may be reluctant to seek help for health issues in case they lose their medical certificate . . . Similarly, there’s a strong incentive for pilots to avoid disclosing mental health concerns to their aviation medical examiner.”"}],[{"start":160.70000000000002,"text":"However, tightened checks have in some cases helped to identify people whose mental health has deteriorated or who suffer life shocks, pilots said."}],[{"start":169.9,"text":"Pilots who suffer bereavements or major traumas are required to make several visits to a therapist before returning to flying, said people with knowledge of the process. "}],[{"start":180.15,"text":"After the 2015 Germanwings crash — which killed 150 people and which investigators found had been caused by the deliberate actions of the pilot — most airlines also introduced extensive schemes to enable crew to report colleagues they believe may be unsafe. "}],[{"start":196.3,"text":"This is helpful in an industry where the fluid nature of rosters means that pilots, co-pilots and crew change constantly. Many will have met each other only hours before take-off. “Being able to form a team quickly is part of the job,” said one longtime pilot. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":212.20000000000002,"text":"Interventions that follow whistleblowing are robust, helping struggling crew members get help. Multiple people said the system has led to improvements. "}],[{"start":220.9,"text":"It is also open to abuse: the industry is rife with tales of pilots or crew who report each other to the system after the end of a romantic relationship. "}],[{"start":230.70000000000002,"text":"The industry’s focus on safety also makes people reluctant to come forward with genuine concerns. "}],[{"start":236.95000000000002,"text":"“You cannot declare a problem,” said one person who works in pilot training, adding that people with autism, attention deficit disorder or depression feel unable to speak out. “You can’t get counselling, other than for eating disorders or marriage counselling,” they added. "}],[{"start":251.85000000000002,"text":"Working as a pilot entails broken sleep patterns and near-constant jet lag, while long periods away from home can lead to marital strains. One pilot said: “If you’re not OK with your own company — and watching really bad TV in your hotel room — it can be an overwhelming experience.”"}],[{"start":270.20000000000005,"text":"But others said they believed changes in the mental state of pilots were more often caused by life events such as divorce than by the job itself. “The most difficult bit is to assess people who have shocks that then trigger and change them into a different personality,” said one former pilot who runs a training centre."}],[{"start":287.15000000000003,"text":"One long-haul airline pilot described the role itself as “pure escapism”. “You see sunshine every day . . . [and] you go to a different part of the world where no one knows who you are,” they said. Another repeated a well-known industry joke: “The pressure is always highest at altitude zero, ie on the ground.”"}],[{"start":305.55,"text":"Flydubai chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith on Friday reiterated that a “full official investigation” was under way into the near miss on its flight, and added: “It is important that we allow this process to establish the facts . . . Safety is, and always will be, our highest priority.” Flydubai declined to comment on pilot checks, pending the investigation."}],[{"start":327.15000000000003,"text":"Investigators have not released the name of the alleged attacker on the flight, though the UAE on Saturday said the flight’s co-pilot “attempted to carry out a terrorist act”."}],[{"start":336.3,"text":"The co-pilot was “attacking the captain inside the flight deck using a crash axe and attempting to take control of the aircraft”, UAE attorney-general Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said. The investigation will “establish the full circumstances, motives, and any links related to the incident”, he added."}],[{"start":354.2,"text":"Andrew Lobbenberg, an airline analyst at Barclays, said it “could lead regulators and airlines to revisit psychological screening, crew vetting procedures and access to flight controls when only two pilots are in the cockpit”."}],[{"start":367.5,"text":"McKechnie is unconvinced by arguments for more testing. He said the checks rely on the belief “that pilots who plan to commit acts of sabotage and murder will discuss this with colleagues, counsellors or medical examiners”. "}],[{"start":380.05,"text":"He added: “These attempts to use psychological and psychiatric assessments to reduce the risk of sabotage by pilots are ineffective.”"}],[{"start":390.40000000000003,"text":"But others in the industry disagree. Arik Arad, former security chief of Israeli airline El Al, told CNN this week that pilots “should also have psychological and background checks not only when they get accepted to become pilots but periodically, maybe every six months . . . just to make sure nobody is going astray.”"}],[{"start":418.00000000000006,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1791015774_4369.mp3"}