Legal News

A former airline who retired after suffering mental health problems has told BBC News that the pressures of fast turnarounds and increasing workloads is resulting pilots “bucking under unacceptable pressures”.

The ex-pilot – who wishes to remain anonymous and is named only “John” – was speaking in response to revelations about the state of mind of the co-pilot of the Germanwings flight which was deliberately flown into a mountainside in France in March, killing all the passengers and crew on board.

John – not his real name – said that he retired after 36 years in the aviation industry.
“I just found it impossible to go to work,” he told the BBC.
“I felt very close to tears – as I had done on various occasions at the end of shifts – without really understanding what was happening.
“I just couldn't really function on any level.”

John said that pilot rotas generated by computerised rostering programmes allow minimum rest periods between shifts – and coupled with the pressure for quick turnarounds at airports, the conditions pilots are working in creating unacceptable pressures.
“We start work very early in the morning – we do very long duty days, with multiple flights during the day,” John added.
“The physiological effects on one's body of compression and decompression – it can be extremely stressful, as the companies continue to ask for more and more.”

French investigators have said the Germanwings crash was intentional – and that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who put the plane into a sudden descent in the French Alps, had practised a rapid descent on a previous flight between Düsseldorf and Barcelona. It has been reported that Lubitz had a history of mental health issues.

The European Commission is to set up a taskforce of experts to review aviation safety regulation – which will include checks on the mental health of pilots.

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Solicitors

Duncan Lewis mental health solicitors can advise on access to NHS mental health services – and detention under the Mental Health Act.

Duncan Lewis is the UK’s largest provider of Legal Aid mental health services – and our mental health solicitors are available nationwide and a short notice for appointments at police stations and hospitals.

For confidential and expert legal advice on mental health law and patients’ rights under the Mental Health Act, call the Duncan Lewis Mental health Solicitors Helpline on 0203 114 1124.