[Peetwo]

Off to the Coroner -

Reference AP Avmed boards:

Suicidal pilot was cleared for duty by Qantas one month before he crashed plane into ocean off northern NSW

March 25, 2016 1:00am

Exclusive Jack Houghton The Courier-Mail


Paul Whyte.


QANTAS cleared international pilot Paul Whyte to fly one month before police believe he deliberately crashed his light aircraft into the ocean off northern NSW.

The Lennox Head man passed a mental health check in February even though he had been struggling to deal with a marriage breakdown for nearly a year.

Qantas confirmed the father-of-two had flown Boeing 747 aircraft with a capacity of 467 passengers on the Brisbane to Los Angeles route as a first officer in the weeks before his death on Monday.

Qantas pilot Paul Whyte was struggling to deal with his marriage breakup when he hired a light aircraft in Lismore and crashed it into the sea near Byron Bay after sending a farewell message to his daughters. Source: Facebook

The Australian and International Pilots Association has repeatedly declined to comment saying ‘we are not obligated’ to speak about the incident, despite Mr Whyte officially representing the union at Civil Aviation Safety Authority meetings in recent years.

Revelations Mr Whyte was cleared for duty have raised questions from mental health experts about the quality and frequency of checks.

Griffith University psychiatrist Harry McConnell said mental health checks could not pick up sudden changes in stability and called for pilots to more readily report warning signs of their peers to managers.

“Even if he had a mental health screening, it would only have been valid at the time,” he said.


“Even if he wasn’t suicidal a month ago, obviously there was something that happened in the interim that has changed his way of thinking and his mental state.

“These peer programs like they have in North America are good for that and lets mates to look out for mates.

Paul Whyte.

“It would allow airlines to keep track of mental health on a more immediate level.”

A Qantas spokesman said all pilots had annual health checks which involved “a number of physical and psychological tests”.

The tests rely heavily on pilots themselves reporting any “significant” change in their health to obtain a medical certificate.

“Pilots who have a history of psychosis, alcoholism, drug dependence, personality disorder, mental abnormality or neurosis are disqualified from holding a Class 1 medical certificate — therefore cannot be a commercial airline pilot,” he said.

“As per CASA regulations, all Qantas pilots undergo annual medical evaluations in order to maintain their flying licence.

A Qantas spokesman said all pilots had annual health checks which involved “a number of physical and psychological tests”.

“This includes a number of physical and psychological tests conducted by a designated aviation medical doctor in a process overseen by CASA.

“Paul passed his annual medical check in February this year. He also passed his proficiency check in November 2015, which includes simulator testing.”

The spokesman added: “There are a number of failsafes from a safety of flight perspective, including the ‘two in the cockpit’ rule that was introduced last year.
“On most international flights there are generally four pilots on board each flight.”

Qantas Chief Pilot Captain Richard Tobiano told the Gold Coast Bulletin the tragedy was “very upsetting” for Mr Whyte’s “family, friends and colleagues”.

“It is with great sadness that I confirm that an off-duty Qantas pilot was flying a light aircraft which went missing off the northern coast of New South Wales on Monday evening,” he said.

“As you can imagine this is a very upsetting time for his family, friends and colleagues, and we’re providing them with as much support as we can.
“I ask you to respect their privacy at this time.

On Monday the father of two rented a Cessna 172 from the Northern Rivers Aero Club in Lismore, sent a final text message to his family and crashed the plane six nautical miles offshore from Byron Bay. Qantas has confirmed he was in cleared for active duty on the day he died.

Update today in the Weekend Oz:

Suspected suicide of a ­Qantas pilot: Screening ‘relies on honesty’

• Simon King
  
• The Australian
  
• March 26, 2016 12:00AM
  

Senior reporter
Sydney

The circumstances ­surrounding first officer Paul Whyte’s actions on Monday are unknown.

The suspected suicide of a ­Qantas pilot who flew a private plane into the ocean at 200km/h has sparked debate about airline screening processes, with a leading depression expert saying the system is not foolproof.

While the circumstances ­surrounding first officer Paul Whyte’s actions on Monday are unknown, air traffic control monitored the single-engine aircraft he had hired for the day from the Northern Rivers Aero Club in Lismore before it crashed into the ocean about 11km northeast of Byron Bay. Police have been unable to recover the ­Lismore man’s body or the wreckage, but said there were no suspicious ­circumstances.

The incident comes a year after 27-year-old Germanwings co-pilot And­reas Lubitz locked his captain out of the cockpit of an Airbus A320 during a flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf and flew into the French Alps, killing all 150 ­people. In a report released this month, investigators said the remains of Lubitz — who had a history of psychological issues — contained traces of antidepressants.

Pilot suicide is also a theory in the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 two years ago.

The head of the psychiatry school at the University of NSW, Philip Mitchell, a professorial fellow at the Black Dog Institute, said there was a difference ­between pilots who took down their plane and those who took hundreds with them.

“In general, when people are depressed … they only take their own life. When there’s the taking of a whole plane with passengers ­involved, it just doesn’t fit the usual pattern,” Professor Mitchell said.

In Australia, pilots of passenger planes must hold a Civil Aviation Safety Authority medical certificate that has to be renewed annually and includes psychological testing.
CASA requires pilots to dec­lare any significant changes in their mental health. Anyone with a history of psychosis, alcoholism, drug dependence, personality disorder or mental abnormality is forbidden to fly.

Professor Mitchell, who has done a number of pilot reviews for CASA, said its current honesty system, “clearly implies there needs to be a frankness on behalf of the pilot”.

“My experience is most pilots are pretty frank about those things,” he said.

“The issue is how often people are reviewed and the adequacy of that — you can never have a completely foolproof system.”

I note today that although the ATSB declined to investigate this apparent tragic suicide, that the NSW Police requested assistance with their own investigation...

Via the ATSB Aviation investigation webpage:

AE-2016-058
Technical assistance to the NSW Coroner relating to accident involving Cessna C172L, VH-XZZ, on 21 March 2016
21 Mar 2016
Final
14 Feb 2017

On 21 March 2016, a Cessna 172L, registered VH-XZZ, disappeared from radar about 7 NM (13 km) north-east of Byron Bay, New South Wales (NSW). The pilot was the sole occupant and, despite initial search efforts, the aircraft was reported as missing.

The accident is being investigated by the NSW Police Force on behalf of the NSW Coroner. The ATSB did not initiate a separate accident investigation; however, on 14 June 2016, the police advised the ATSB that the wreckage had been located and video recorded by the Royal Australian Navy. In addition, the police requested ATSB assistance with their examination the video footage of the wreckage.

To facilitate this support, on 15 June 2016 the ATSB initiated an external investigation under the provisions of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003. The ATSB completed its review of the video footage and provided a report to the NSW Police Force on 30 August 2016.

Any enquiries as to the planning for, or conduct or progress of the Coroner’s investigation into this accident should be directed to the:

State Coroner’s Court of New South Wales
44–46 Parramatta Road
Glebe  NSW  2037
Phone: (02) 8584 7777

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