Accidents
EASA Calls for Mandatory Mental Screening of Pilots
Task force report to EC contains six main recommendations
Preliminary findings indicate that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed one of the airline's Airbus A320s. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY-SA) by Linus Φόλλερτ)
Preliminary findings indicate that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed one of the airline's Airbus A320s. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY-SA) by Linus Φόλλερτ)

A task force led by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recommended in a report published Friday that all pilots undergo a psychological evaluation before entering airline service. The report, issued to the European Commission at the behest of EC Transport Commissioner Voileta Bulc following the March 24 crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, also called for random drug and alcohol testing, enforcement of the principle of two pilots in the cockpit at all times, a “robust” program of oversight for medical examiners, the creation of a European aeromedical data repository and implementation of a pilot support system within airlines.