KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Local airline pilots may be made to undergo regular psychological evaluations, Putrajaya said today in response to the Germanwings incident in which the pilot is suspected to have crashed the plane intentionally.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said that depression was increasingly common and that it was crucial for all public transport operator including pilots to be tested to ensure they are mentally and emotionally healthy.
The evaluations would conducted collaboratively by the Transport and Health ministries.
“Our view is that pilots and even public drivers should be assessed. Depression is creeping into the modern society and it should be part of the medical examination to assess if pilots are fit to fly,” local daily New Straits Times quoted Liow as saying.
“However, we will leave this to medical professionals to do the assessment,” he added.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya added that commercial pilots should be screened every six months, adding that the airline industry should initiate the move.
“We welcome the local aviation players to sit down and discuss. However, the first step should be from them,” he said.
“We are willing to assist them as we don’t want an incident like this to occur in the future,” he said, referring to reports that mental checks for pilots might soon be made mandatory.
This comes after the New Straits Times previously reported that the Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said the medical assessments for aviation personnel will be reviewed, possibly making psychological screening a permanent feature.
Azharuddin added, however, that the review had nothing to do with the Germanwings incident or the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Flight 9525 crashed into the French side of the Alps while flying from Barcelona, Spain to Dusseldorf in Germany on May 24, killing all 150 people on board.
Investigators are focussing on pilot Andreas Lubitz, 27, who was now suspected of having suffered from clinical depression when he initiated the descent that caused the Airbus A320 to crash.
