Mental health charities beg: Do not demonise depression over Lubitz crash

Experts say that mandatory screening for mental health conditions is cursory and support programmes weak.

Lufthansa was aware that Lubitz had been suspended from its flight school for six months from 2008 after a diagnosis of depression but it is unclear what support they offered to the young pilot.

Any deterioration in his mental health condition appears to have gone unnoticed despite regular health checks.

Psychologists are concerned pilots may hide illness to preserve their careers.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority guidance for airlines’ annual medical examinations calls on doctors to make a “general inquiry about mental health which may include mood, sleep and alcohol use”.

The advice is sandwiched between sections on spotting skin complaints, eyesight tests and even if a pilot’s hair colour is natural, although many airlines employ more rigorous and regular medical examinations.

“It is obviously a stressful job but we found that it attracts people who manage stress very well,” said Professor Cary Cooper, of Lancaster University, who conducted detailed research into the mental health of pilots. “They know the pressures involved and self-select into the profession.

“Problems are more likely to lie in a private life rather than the demands of flying. The psychological tests appear to be quite cursory and someone with depression or mental health problems is not going to tell their employer’s doctor because of the professional impact.”

Pilots can be grounded and suspended if they are prescribed medication such as anti-depressants to cope with depression or anxiety. German state police found torn up medical notes at Lubitz’s Dusseldorf flat along with a sick note for the day of the catastrophe.

It fits a narrative of a man under pressure, hiding problems that lead to his unstable state of mind, even though he had been rated “100 per cent” ready to fly by Lufthansa and its charter subsidiary Germanwings.

However, mental health charities last night warned about demonising depression as an inevitable route to disaster.

“The big problem is that mental health is stigmatised in all walks of life. Issues such as stress, depression and anxiety are not talked about in the workplace as people are frightened of being sacked,” added Professor Cooper, a specialist in organisational psychology and health.

“It is still seen as a sign of weakness and when you take a macho task like flying an airplane then it is inevitable people are going to hide personal issues.

“The global statistics are that one in four of us will experience some form of mental health problem in their lifetime – some of those are going to be pilots.

“The big question is how do airlines judge if someone’s mental health is OK and what are the employers going to do to make sure it is not a stigma so that it can be talked about openly, and they can have time off and not get sacked?”

He called on employers to be more progressive when dealing with staff problems adding psychometric tests could detect problems at pilot check-ups and provide the data needed for positive intervention and counselling.

However, Professor Robert Bor, a former pilot and clinical psychologist based at the Royal Free Hospital, London, warned: “If there is someone so determined to commit a heinous crime then they could succeed irrespective of the tests unless they are caught in the act. But these types of incidents are thankfully very rare.”