--- description: The agency announced on Wednesday it will be studying the emotional and mental health of pilots. title: FAA Will Study Pilots' Mental Health image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Research](/tag/research/) ## Research Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # FAA Will Study Pilots' Mental Health by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 27, 2015 7:25 PM CUT by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 27, 2015 7:25 PM CUT The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Wednesday it would study the mental and emotional health of pilots, a move that comes more than two months after investigators say a German pilot flew a commercial jet into the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard. While pilots are required to undergo medical screenings with agency-approved physicians once or twice a year, the study was recommended in the wake of tragedies like the crash Germanwings Flight 9525 in March and the early 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Indian Ocean. The FAA said in a statement that the Pilot Fitness Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC)—to be comprised of government members and aviation experts, as well as medical professionals whose specialty is aerospace medicine—will look into awareness and reporting practices for emotional and mental issues among pilots. The committee, which will also probe the procedures used to evaluate mental health issues and any barriers to reporting them, will provide the FAA with recommendations within six months. “Based on the group’s recommendations,” according to the statement, “the FAA may consider changes to medical methods, aircraft design, policies and procedures, pilot training and testing, training for Aerospace Medical Examiners, or potential actions that may be taken by professional, airline, or union groups.” _Read next:_ [_German Privacy Laws Let Pilot ‘Hide’ His Illness From Employers_](http://time.com/3761895/germanwings-privacy-law/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3898396/federal-aviation-administration-pilots-mental-health/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3898396/federal-aviation-administration-pilots-mental-health/"},"headline":"FAA Will Study Pilots' Mental Health","datePublished":"2015-05-27T19:25:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:40:31.715Z","description":"A committee will provide recommendations within six months","url":"https://time.com/3898396/federal-aviation-administration-pilots-mental-health/","keywords":["Research","Mental Health","health","Pilots","Malaysia Airlines","FAA"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3898396/federal-aviation-administration-pilots-mental-health/","name":"FAA Will Study Pilots' Mental Health"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Germanwings Pilot Practiced Plane Crash","description":"A Germanwings plane crashes in the French Alps.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/A0rqqmZ7/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-24T15:57:28.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/A0rqqmZ7.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3898396/federal-aviation-administration-pilots-mental-health/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3898396/federal-aviation-administration-pilots-mental-health/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```