NBAA Applauds FAA Progress on Mental Health Certification Reform

NBAA recently welcomed the FAA’s updated aeromedical policy on mental health. The new policy encourages pilots and aircraft traffic controllers to seek counseling and other mental health support early. Now, pilots and controllers receiving various forms of talk therapy and peer-support services are much more likely to leave their aviation medical examiner’s (AME) office with a medical certificate in hand.

NBAA played a key role in advocating for these changes, which are, in large part, a result of recommendations made by the FAA’s Mental Health & Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC).

NBAA’s Director of Safety and Flight Operations, Mark Larsen, CAM, said, “Early intervention and treatment of a mental health concern is preferable to restore mental wellness. This new policy helps reduce the stigma of mental health concerns and empowers pilots and controllers to seek treatment early and maintain their medical certification.”

The new policy directs AMEs to focus on the underlying condition and potential impact on safety, rather than treating talk therapy/counseling itself as a concern. An AME can issue a medical certificate to pilots or controllers who are able to function well, without jeopardizing safety. If the AME has safety-related concerns, they can defer the decision to the FAA.

Sharing the New Guidance

Pilots and controllers should also share new FAA guidance with their therapists. This new guidance provides a format for therapists to provide a brief summary outlining the patient’s diagnosis, severity, resilience and ability to self-monitor. Pilots should provide this summary to their AME.

“NBAA encourages pilots and controllers to ‘preflight’ their medical certification; that is, spend time getting prepared for your visit and assembling documentation that will help your AME issue a medical certificate directly, or minimize the time it takes for the FAA’s review,” said Larsen.

Review this new guidance for pilots and controllers, which provides a “road map” to medical certification while receiving counseling or other talk therapy treatment, to prepare for your next medical certification.

Modernizing Pathways

The new policy on talk therapy and guidance for therapists is just the latest FAA initiative aimed at modernizing medical certification pathways for mental health conditions. Last year the agency revised guidance for pilots with anxiety and depression and added new medications to the list of approved medications to treat such conditions.

“This latest policy is a critical part of a much broader initiative by the FAA to modernize how it approaches mental health diagnosis and intervention in aviators,” said NBAA Flight Operations Specialist Laila Stein, who with Larsen participated in the ARC. “NBAA commends the FAA for collaborating with the industry to reduce barriers to seeking mental health treatment.”

Review NBAA resources surrounding medical issues at nbaa.org/medical.