Commentary
March 24, 2016, marks 1 year since a Germanwings copilot locked the pilot out of the cockpit, then purposely crashed his plane into the French Alps, killing all those aboard the commercial airliner. You can think of it as a suicide or as a mass murder; it was both.
Initially, it was reported that the pilot had taken 10 months off from training in 2008-2009 because of depression. A full report released earlier this month by France’s Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authority reveals that the copilot recently had resumed treatment with a psychiatrist, as well as several other physicians, without informing his employer.
According to the report, the initial episode of depression included a hospitalization. The copilot was judged to be “entirely healthy,” and communications occurred between the aviation authorities, and his psychiatrist and psychotherapist. The copilot was issued a class I, unrestricted medical certificate that allowed him to fly as long as he did not have a recurrence of depression. It would be revoked if he had either symptoms or a need for medication. The medical certificate was renewed yearly, most recently in July 2014.
Dr. Dinah Miller
In November 2014, the copilot consulted with “private physician A” and was placed on sick leave for a week. Beginning in December, the copilot saw “several private physicians” for visual difficulties and sleep disturbance. He was seen by several eye specialists who found no visual problems. On Feb. 17, 2015, the copilot saw “private physician B,” who placed him on sick leave for 8 days; he did not forward this information to Germanwings. On the same day, he saw “private physician C,” who referred him to a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist, and prescribed zopiclone, a sleep medication similar to Lunesta (eszopiclone), the report says.
On Feb. 22, 2015, the copilot returned to see “private physician C” and was placed on sick leave for 3 days. Two days later, he met with a psychiatrist and was given a prescription for mirtazapine. On March 9, “private physician D” issued a note for sick leave, which the copilot did not report to the airline. The following day, he returned to “private physician C,” who recommended hospitalization for possible psychosis. He returned to “private physician C” on March 12, 2 days later, and was given a note for sick leave – which he did not relay to Germanwings. On March 16, the treating psychiatrist prescribed escitalopram, Dominal f (a phenothiazine similar to compazine), and zolpidem. On March 18, he received a note for sick leave by “private physician E.” An email to his treating psychiatrist sometime in March also revealed that he was taking an additional dose of mirtazapine and lorazepam. In reading the list of medical contacts, one has the sense that the copilot was frantic. His remains tested positive for citalopram, mirtazapine, and zopiclone.
If I am reading the report correctly, the copilot took medical leave twice during the months preceding the crash, and copiloted flights both the day before the crash and earlier that same morning.
The aviation authority’s report noted: “The limited medical and personal data available to the safety investigation did not make it possible for an unambiguous psychiatric diagnosis to be made. In particular an interview with the copilot’s relatives and his private physicians was impossible, as they exercised their right to refuse to be interviewed.” The investigators concluded that it was likely that the copilot suffered from a psychotic depressive episode dating back to December 2014 and lasting until the tragedy.
It’s important to note that German laws are more stringent than American laws about patient privacy: Violations include criminal sanctions. What is striking from the report is that there is so little communication between the physicians, even between physician C, who referred the patient to a psychiatrist, and the treating psychiatrist. In fact, physician C recommended hospitalization, and there is no report that the psychiatrist recommended either time off or hospitalization. We don’t know if the physicians were aware of who else was treating this patient, or if the doctors even knew he was a pilot. It’s even more striking that the physicians of a dead mass murderer can simply refuse to be interviewed by aviation authorities.
When the report came out, forensic psychiatrist Paul Appelbaum tweeted, “Germanwings crash shows results of fetishing privacy when lives are at stake; I’d like to think US drs. would have reported psychotic pilot.” Please note that Dr. Appelbaum’s grammar is restricted by the 140-character limit imposed by Twitter. A tweeted discussion ensued, including Dr. Annette Hanson, over whether it would be better to hospitalize or report a pilot, and if it might be difficult to figure out whom a private psychiatrist would even report to. Dr. Hanson, who favored hospitalization, tweeted, “Creating a duty to report ‘unfitness’ apart from dangerousness could expand to other professions-liability growth.”