FAA: Depressed Pilots on Medications Can Fly

Pressured by the Air Line Pilots Association, the Federal Aviation Administration will allow some pilots with depression and on medications to return to the skies, The Wall Street Journal reported on April 3.

The agency currently bans pilots on psychiatric medications including antidepressants from flying out of concern over possible adverse effects of the drugs.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt was cited by the journal as saying that some pilots with depression do not get treated or take medications secretly without being monitored out of fear of losing their jobs.  This situation can potentially compromise aviation safety and pilot health.

Medical experts and mental health organizations supported the new FAA policy because they said depression itself can have an impact on job performance.  But they cautioned that pilots being treated need carefully monitored and their confidentiality should be honored.

The Air Line Pilot Association said the lifting of the ban should improve aviation safety and pilot health.  Depression left untreated can lead to serious consequences.

Starting on Monday, the FAA will consider granting waivers that permit pilots to fly while taking antidepressants Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa or Lexapro and other generic medications in the same category.

Under the new policy, before a waiver can be granted by a FAA-certified physician, pilots with depression need to be "satisfactorily treated" for 12 months during which time, they will be grounded.

Pilots who are taking antidepressants without having notified authorities will have to disclose their condition within a grace period of six months to the authorities without being penalized. And they will start a new regime if necessary.

FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette was cited as saying pilots who need to take medications will have to complete their treatment satisfactorily during the 12-month waiting period.  Pilots will be examined every six months to one year by an aviation medical examiner to be re-certified.  They also need to disclose what prescription drugs they are taking.

Psychiatrists suggest that six months are necessary because it takes about three months for antidepressants to exert an effect and it needs three more months to see if there is any further development in the condition.

One of the concerns about antidepressants is their association with increased risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts.  But this concern may not be justified because the risk is more often increased in those under age 30. For older adults, the treatments seem to cut the risk, according to data available from the Food and Drug Administration.

Antidepressants are the major psychiatric medications that earn drug makers nearly $10 billion in sales in 2009.   As many as 10 percent of people and pilots alike are said to be suffering depression, according to the Wall Street report.

Some studies suggest antidepressive treatments are merely as effective as sugar pills or placebo while they cause a number of serious adverse effects including increased risk for type 2 diabetes, problems with the immune system, suicidal thought and feelings and violent behaviors, particularly in younger people, stillbirths, brittle bones, stroke and death, according to Dr. Joe Mercola, a physician and owner of mercola.com, a popular natural health site.

Dr. Mercola suggests that alternatives are available for people suffering depression although it's unknown whether the FAA would allow pilots to rely on alternatives to treat their mood and emotions.  Effective alternatives he says include emotional cleansing method meridian Tapping Technique (MTT), regular exercise, adequate nutrition like avoiding sugar and grains, supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids, sufficient exposure to sunshine or taking high doses of vitamin D.

Jimmy Downs and editing by Denise Reynolds