Having ready the AAIB report:
https://assets.publishing.service.go...EZGR_09-19.pdf
This flags up concerns about some of the current training practices and selection in the airline industry.
Anxiety is not new even among experienced pilots both in military and the civilian world. I can think of a highly experienced and respected RAF C130 who after thousands of hours flying and many years of good service had to give up flying. a midair between two RAF Tornados in Scotland, one of the crew had after a long military flying career been suffering from anxiety. Likewise in the civilian world, I recall in the mid eiighties a flight out of BHX, where the copilot completely lost it somewhere over Lyon. I dont think he flew again. The point here is that I think there is a difference between anxiety in a very experienced pilot, who is likely to have managed stress throughout his/her career through flying experience. I myself never really knew how I was going to react to a highly stressful in the early stages of my career. After a few near misses, pan calls and mayday calls, I know how I react under abnormal situations and stress.
This situation in my mind flags up concerns over the so called 'children of magenta', twenty years ago, a co-pilot mostly likely had over 1500 hrs including coping will stress whether that was in the military, or single crew air taxi work in very poor weather. What the report fails to mention is the breakdown of the co-pilots flying experience including hand flying experience. Was the pilot capable at flying for example a C172 in a 17 knot crosswind, could he even fly a light aircraft?. I think we know the pilots going through training now, take very well to flight automation, but there is still a nagging question as to their ability to cope with a situation like Souix City or the A320 into the Hudson River.
I am very dubious about if peer support would have made any difference, and how odd the co-pilot was not aware of it anyway. Then there was the AAIB comments about the communication, why did the captain comment on turbulence, probably because it was forecast or part of the airfield arrival brief. As for the AME signing him off, was this the 'trick cyclist' at Gatwick or a specialist in anxiety, or the local AME, who knows.
While there are many sympathetic comments, I have reservations. On this occasion, the co-pilot was anxious about landing and removed from the flight deck. So what would have happened if the fifty year old captain had been incapicitated coupled with a cross wind?