The pilot’s profession includes being stress-resistant and able to respond to various situations during the flight. Factors such as weather conditions, the professionalism of colleagues, and the behavior of passengers and others can affect the pilot’s emotional state. Nevertheless, the flight’s success is conditioned by the possibility of the maximum calm of the pilot and his focus on the performance of professional duties. The main goal of this critical review paper is to study the peculiarities of the emotional fitness of pilots in the context of the importance of this factor for emergency response and the prevention of plane crashes.
Legal Requirements
First, it will be important to consider the rules that must be followed to achieve a result aimed at minimizing the possibility of an aircraft crash. The pilot, who is directly responsible for the successful flight of the aircraft periodically, must pass the necessary tests for their mental and emotional state. Since people have other aspects of life besides work, factors such as family, friends, and parents can directly affect their emotional state. In this regard, specific data collection about the pilot allows a better understanding of his emotional state (Restellini, 2022). The experts who collect such information are called aeromedical examiners. According to Restellini (2022), “the European lawmaker has considered that it can be legitimate to collect such sensitive data from pilots… to satisfactorily execute their functions…” (p. 316). Therefore, regarding legal requirements, the pilot should be allowed to fly the aircraft only if there is sufficient information about their emotional state. Assessment of the data collected by aeromedical examiners will allow one to make this decision with maximum efficiency. This approach will improve the quality of flights and reduce the possibility of disaster.
Psychology of Pilots
The quality psychological state of pilots is one of the critical factors for their emotional fitness. It is important to emphasize that, unlike the pilot’s data collection process, their psychological state is handled by a separate doctor, a psychologist. On the one hand, it can contribute to a better assessment of the pilot’s condition. However, on the other hand, there is a problem because of which the psychological state of the pilot may be assessed incorrectly or incompletely. The low level of pilots’ trust in doctors is due to the high risk to their careers. Pilots have distrusted doctors, especially psychologists because they believe that doctors can affect their career in a negative way (Bleetman, 2019). Since the psychological state of the pilot is one of the critical factors influencing his work, it is vital to establish communication between the psychologist and the pilot. Distrust to a psychologist due to a possible adverse effect in obtaining the medical certification required for flying should be eliminated (Bor et al., 2019). Otherwise, it will be challenging to create a qualitative emotional state of the pilot.
Considering the methods used to collect information about the pilot and his communication with a psychologist, it is vital to evaluate their performance. Based on the findings, it will be possible to determine whether the pilot has a mental illness. Among the major diseases affecting pilots are depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bor et al., 2019). In addition to the reasons given in previous paragraphs, these diseases are affected by the high stress associated with flying, long periods away from family and friends, and the risk of accidents (Bor et al., 2019). Illnesses must be identified as quickly as possible, after which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must determine the pilot’s ability to perform their professional duties.
References
Bor, R., Eriksen, C., Hubbard, T., & King, R. (2019). Pilot selection: Psychological principles and practice. CRC Press.
Bleetman, T. (2019). What could go wrong?: The highs and lows of an air ambulance doctor. Random House.
Restellini, J. (2022). Labor relations in aviation. Kluwer Law International B.V.