We monitor aircraft continuously. Engines. Sensors. Maintenance histories. Tiny deviations. But the person with command authority over hundreds of lives is still assessed largely on a periodic basis.
That may be aviation’s next great blind spot. The recent Flydubai cockpit incident pushed me to think beyond the conventional debate around pilot mental health. Because the real question is larger. A pilot may be medically fit and yet become vulnerable to coercion, blackmail, financial pressure, radicalisation, manipulation or malicious intent. That is not simply a mental health issue. It is a question of Human Airworthiness.
The challenge is equally uncomfortable. How do we identify genuine safety risks without turning airlines into surveillance agencies and pilots into permanently monitored suspects?
In my latest article, I argue for a new framework that combines mental fitness, behavioural threat assessment, security intelligence, and due process. We have become brilliant at monitoring machines. Perhaps it is time to become equally sophisticated about the humans who command them. Where should aviation draw the line between privacy and safety?
#AviationSafety#PublicPolicy#AviationLaw#RiskManagement#NationalSecurity#Airlines#Leadership#HumanFactors
