Europe adopts new mental health tests for pilots after the Germanwings crash
In 2015, a mentally ill Germanwings pilot crashed a jet, killing 150 people; now, European pilots are to have mental health assessments before they start work
Berlin — Three years after the Germanwings crash in which a pilot deliberately flew a jet into a mountainside, the European Commission has adopted new rules on pilot mental health requiring airlines, for the first time, to carry out a psychological assessment of pilots before they hire them. Investigators have concluded that pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately flew the Germanwings A320 jet into a French mountainside on March 24 2015 on a flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, killing all 150 people on board. Prosecutors have said Lubitz was suffering from a mental disorder with psychotic symptoms that led to suicidal thoughts, but he had concealed his illness from his employer, part of the Lufthansa group. The new rules look to prevent a similar tragedy by providing all pilots with access to a support programme in case of mental health problems and by making European airlines perform a psychological assessment of pilots before they start work. P...
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