A320 Crash: 'Pilots Are Good Actors, Can Hide True Emotional State'

Commenting on the Germanwings Flight 9525 tragedy, commercial airline pilot and aviation expert Jack Hareland told Sputnik that one of the reasons it is so difficult to detect a pilot's real psychological state is that pilots themselves have been subconsciously trained to tell their employers that everything is always fine.

Speaking to Radio Sputnik on Friday, Hareland explained that "pilots are very good actors. They can go to a doctor or a psychologist, and they have to hide their situations because their job depends on a good, stable mental health attitude. Pilots just have this ability to do that and they do not want to go near a situation where they could possibly lose their job or their career."

Hareland added that a big part of the problem is that "once you're identified with an emotional disorder today, it's difficult to maintain your license and your career, so pilots avoid this subject at all costs even though help is available to them." The expert noted that as a result, "many pilots seek self-help or don't get the help at all when needed."

Speculating on what Germanwings is going to have to do in this situation, in addition to changing in-flight cockpit security procedure, Hareland noted that "they are going to have to reassess their hiring practices." The expert explained that he "was quite surprised to hear that Germanwings hired a copilot with 630 hours [of flight time]. This level of experience would not even be considered in the US carriers. You have to have 1,500 hours at a minimum."

The expert explained that the hours are important not just in and of themselves, but that also because they "establish a career path and a career process," showing how a pilot thinks and acts in the course of his career. "So I guess that was the biggest surprise to me: the hiring of an individual with such low flight time and low experience level," and hence an inability to "predict what he would do in the future."

Ultimately, Hareland believes that "establishing a well-defined hiring process is the start to any good selection of a pilot." This includes thorough testing for psychological and emotional problems, as well as simulator training in high-stress simulators to attempt to gauge a person's reaction to difficult, unpredictable and emotionally stressful situations.