Hidden Dangers on the Flight Deck: A Stakeholder Analysis of the Issues Surrounding Commercial Pilot Mental Health

Abstract

On October 22, 2023, an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was traveling as a guest in a flight deck jump seat of Alaska Airlines Flight AS2059 from Seattle Paine Field Airport to San Francisco International Airport grabbed the engine shutoff handles mid-flight. The guest pilot was wrestled away by the pilots in command of the aircraft and the aircraft diverted to Portland International Airport. The recent incident relating to airline pilot mental health highlighted the US airline industry’s reluctance to address a serious potential aviation safety problem of pilot mental health. During the COVID-19 pandemic mental health issues throughout society were brought into the public spotlight. Olympic athletes made their point in the 2020 Olympics of being vulnerable to mental health issues, meanwhile little was mentioned about the stressful environment of airline pilots’ susceptibility to mental health issues. This research was aimed at US commercial pilot mental health from the perspectives of air safety concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) policy and process, the potential failure of pilots voluntarily reporting, the inadequate support for pilots and pilot job security. The research utilized other research related to pilot mental health, aviation accident and incident reports related to pilot mental health and lastly a stakeholder analysis of the primary stakeholder (pilots) in relation to mental health and the role of other major stakeholders. A complex problem emerged on pilot mental health. The stakeholder analysis showed that a solution to the commercial pilot mental health problem would require strong collaboration of the major stakeholders in an environment of transparency and willingness to sincerely address the issues to resolve the problem.

Keywords: Pilot Mental Health, Commercial Aviation, Federal Aviation Administration Regulations

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005191