[Peetwo]

Germanwings knock on effect??

The following is an excellent article from Jamie Freed (via the SMH) that outlines some of the dilemmas that the Germanwings BEA Final Report has unearthed:

Aviation industry needs to learn from Germanwings crash: French investigators


Date March 14, 2016

• (29)
  
• Read later
  

Jamie Freed
Senior Reporter


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/aviation-industry-needs-to-learn-from-germanwings-crash-french-investigators-20160313-gni0tj.html#ixzz42xlSzLIP
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

"O ye of little faith. Ye petty fidians; He calleth them not nullifidians."

Call me pessimistic but the current CASA DAS Skidmore's 19th century Maritime attitude to CVD Pilots - see HERE - does not fill me with a lot of confidence when it comes to the ramifications of the Germanwings tragedy.

It would be a shame if CASA intervened with some knee-jerk action, because it would seem if left to their own devices airlines, like our national carrier Qantas, are being very proactive & forward thinking with their response to the implications & recommendations of Germanwings. Via news.com.au:  

Germanwings’ crash report sees Qantas bid to help gauge pilots’ mental health

Robyn Ironside News Corp Australia Network


QANTAS pilots will be fed information on mental health and wellbeing via an app on their flightcrew iPads in an effort to safeguard the airline against a Germanwings’ type disaster.

Today from Joseph Wheeler via the Oz:

Pilot peer support the key to preventing disasters

• Joseph Wheeler
  
• The Australian
  
• March 18, 2016 12:00AM
  

Most people think pilots are infallible. Their voices calmly assure travellers in flight, and do so with conviction. But events which prompt speculation of pilot malice, like MH370, or point to frailties like Germanwings, remind us that pilots are people too.

Their weaknesses can dramatically become the world’s to mourn when calls for help go unheard, or when they don’t call for help at all.

This week’s release of the French Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA) report on the Germanwings crash pointed to a variety of contributing causes for the co-pilot’s wilful actions.

They included his likely fear of losing his ability to fly professionally if he reported his decrease in medical fitness to an aeromedical examiner, and the potential financial consequences that would have resulted if he confessed his illness to aviation authorities.

The key to addressing these issues lies in developing and fostering a culture of self-referral of mental health concerns that is both unencumbered by a fear of airline disciplinary reproach or regulatory enforcement action, and which is culturally accepted throughout the industry.

Australia’s pilot associations and its regulatory regime lead the world with a mature approach to health issues facing pilots. They support, through policy, welfare initiatives, and legislation, self-monitoring and self-referral of serious medical complaints.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority also facilitates the appropriate use of therapeutic medications in a way that balances the competing, though not mutually exclusive, interests of aviation safety and pilot welfare. But is that enough?

For the travelling public and pilots themselves, more can be done to prevent unfortunate events like Germanwings.

The BEA report is a reminder that it is only through vigilance, continuous collaborative engagement through and with the medical profession, aviation regulators, airline and pilot professional associations, that we can be sure history won’t repeat.

So what is the solution? Piloting is a technically demanding, heavily scrutinised and unforgiving profession. Only pilots really know what the challenge of the constant, near-flawless performance demanded of them feels like. Accordingly, peer support within this community is vital.

In fact peer pilot support frameworks around the world have been found to be very successful in ensuring that reporting health concerns doesn’t impact on safety. Such systems encourage pilots to look after themselves, accept imperfections, and help each other identify concerns and seek suitable help.

Expectations of reprisals should not compete for priority with the genuine health needs of a silently suffering pilot and their family, nor be accepted by the public as an impediment to their safety.

The solution lies in encouraging the aeronautic equivalent of “looking after your mates”, wherein the culture of perfectionism gives way to a culture of compassion for self and colleagues.

The fact is all professionals should learn to recognise red flags, and encourage peers to get help when they need it. It is only after this concept completely permeates aviation culture that we can all be reassured that the nightmare of Germanwings won’t repeat.

Joseph Wheeler is aviation counsel to the Australian Federation of Air Pilots and Special Counsel to Maurice Blackburn Lawyers

MTF...P2