The FAA encourages pilots to seek help if they have a mental health condition since most, if treated, do not disqualify a pilot from flying.
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The regulations are strict, yes, and make maintaining flight status a challenge. But they don't preclude someone with a mental health condition from flying. You can be a pilot if you have depression. Treatment options and growing awareness about mental health in the workplace provide hope.
In general, having a history of depression, anxiety, or any mental health condition does not necessarily disqualify someone from becoming a pilot. However, it will depend on the severity and duration of the condition, as well as the treatment that was received.
Recent studies underscore that the prevalence of depression among airline pilots fluctuates between 1.9% and 12.6%, a rate that contrasts with the 7.2% to 12.9% observed in the general population [4].
An airline pilot can be an extremely stressful job due to the workload, responsibilities and safety of the thousands of passengers they transport around the world. Chronic levels of stress can negatively impact one's health, job performance and cognitive functioning.
The FAA's regulations require airline pilots to undergo a medical exam with an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) every six months to five years, depending on the type of flying they do and their age. Aviation Medical Examiners are trained to determine the pilot's mental health and fitness to fly.
How the FAA is Reducing the Stigma of Mental Health, Help Pilots Receive Care. The FAA encourages pilots to seek help if they have a mental health condition since most, if treated, do not disqualify a pilot from flying.
Pilots are trained to handle all sorts of nerve-racking situations, but that doesn't mean that they don't get scared—especially in these real instances, told by the pilots who experienced them, of serious in-flight fear.
There is a lot of energy in the systems we operate. So, yeah, it can be a bit stressful, even before we add scheduling pressures, time away from family and constant changes due to weather and customer demands. Almost every “most stressful jobs” list has “commercial pilot” listed in the top 10.
In the U.S., there are no FAA age limits for pilots except for commercial airline pilots employed by airlines certificated under 14 CFR Part 121. These airlines cannot employ pilots after they reach the age of 65. However, these pilots may stay on with a Part 121 carrier in some other role, such as flight engineer.