Where’s Your Head at?
When Anna* suffered a period of depression and anxiety brought on by her divorce, she simply stopped flying. A private pilot with a Class 2 medical, Anna had made the assumption that no doctor would permit her to fly while taking Lexapro–an anti-anxiety medication–and so she grounded herself. A year later, she ceased the medication–slowly, through ever decreasing doses–renewed her medical and resumed flying.
Unbeknown to Anna, she made two errors. Firstly, Anna may have been able to continue flying on her medication all along; and secondly, she may have been better off, psychologically speaking, staying on her medication under the watch of her DAME. Like many pilots with mental health concerns, Anna was uncertain of how to proceed and made a decision to ground herself.
As it turns out, Australia is a world-leader in the area of anti-depressants and mental health in aviation. Unlike a majority of air safety authorities around the world, CASA allows Australian pilots to fly while on anti-depressant drugs, under tightly controlled conditions. For example, the pilot must have taken the drugs for at least a month before flying. This is to ensure that he or she is not suffering side-effects such as fatigue or nausea that could affect performance.
A study led by consultant aviation specialist James Ross in 2005 concluded
