I see no action
Thank you for your reply.
But I have to disagree.
It is an easy subject, all we have to decide is “ is my or another’s mental health in an acceptable range ? “
A bit like the introduction to CRM, a bit of a surprise for some of us !
Most people these days are aware of CRM issues, one example working at your natural low, during your WOCL !
CRM is actually used as a tool to assess. Quite a bit of progress/change really.
So we are becoming more self aware of our own failings, being perhaps distracted by emotional events in our lives is also an area where most seem to understand that it affects performance.
So to me it is a less taboo area, especially with maybe more enlightened younger colleagues.
As you said we have had some training on alcohol and drug abuse. Peer support etc, but also a lot of training and guidance.
For example moderate drinking was open to a subjective assessment, so they came up with guidance as to how many alcohol units was moderate and time scales. So some basic training, not just personal guessing. At the time is was needed, the guidance and training, we have come a long way. Now it’s common knowledge to plan your drinking or lack of drinking with facts, not just using guess work.
As to no easy solutions, there are many tools it seems, it’s just we are not familiar with them. So to me it’s just ignorance and institutional blindness.
Aviation is an industry with plenty of rules ! I can see management and the authorities not wanting to create more .
However this is an area, leaving things to chance and ignorance is not acceptable.
Who would not want to have tools in place to prevent the next loss of life. The problem is not going to solve itself, it’s not going to go away on it’s own !
Regarding Doctors and confidentiality as stated in the German Wings report, doctors have a legal obligation to report a patient if they think there is a risk to the lives of others.
I can see the ethical and moral issues of patients not opening up to a doctor if they believe they will be shopped ! Hence the peer support programs.
But for now, the issue is just a simple tool and some back up for those rare situations when someone is operating below par or even a direct threat to the flight.
We need to act. Burying our head in the sand is one option, but it won’t sit well after the next crash !