depressed people should not fly planes at all.  One of the first symptoms is loss of concentration and memory.  And SSRIs have limited effectiveness, so you have to switch.  And it takes a while to get the balance right on your new prescription.  What that means is you are under a doctor's care, you took your prescriptions, and then you wait to see if you forgot to put the wheels down before landing--that would indicate you need to step up the dosage.

taken with the EPA's threat to "limit" the use of de-icers at airfields, and the DHS's decision not to ban that Arab jackass who joked he was lighting his shoes on fire, and Obama's early "photo-op" with air force one and two jets over NYC...I think our President is not only a Muslim Kenyan, he's got a really [moo'd] up sense of humor

Chris_Balsz: "One of the first symptoms is loss of concentration and memory.  And SSRIs have limited effectiveness, so you have to switch.  And it takes a while to get the balance right on your new prescription."

Under the new policy, pilots who report their diagnosis are still grounded for several months so that their response to treatment can be supervised until such a time as the AME considers them fit to fly again. I think that this is a much more preferable approach to dealing with depression amongst pilots, rather than forcing the issue underground and creating an environment where pilots may conceal the problem or even forego pursuing treatment altogether. I do not condone hiding anything that could affect a pilot's ability to do their job, but this is what we had to contend with in the past.

The Australians have cleared pilots treating their depression with certain anti-depressants for years without significant incident, and so has the US Army. The FAA has been anything but cutting-edge on the issue, until now.

SSRIs stop working though, which is why there are so many of them.  Maybe Prozac works a few years, then you switch to Celexa.  Then maybe extended release Prozac.

at least you know not to bring your kid to the control tower

wait...you're not playing on duty

@Chris_Balsz

I thought the kid was rather funny. I heard the audio clips of his transmissions; they were clear, simple instructions with proper phraseology (obviously the child was coached), and the pilots seem charmed and responded appropriately. That, to me, is indicative of a period of low traffic where there's not too much on the scopes and all operations are normal. I don't think the controller did any harm by letting the kid talk to the airplanes.

Oh please, it's not as if the child was actually directing traffic. It's obvious the father was supervising him and telling him what to say.

Breach of protocol? Yes. Absolutely.

Unprofessional? Sure, but I feel the circumstances are mitigating.

JFK tower is an extremely well-run facility, and only the best work there. His father told him exactly what to say, when to say it, and it was a controlled situation. I'm not saying this should happen everyday, and it doesn't. This was an isolated incident, and nothing came of it. Even if the kid mispronounced a callsign or said the wrong thing, it's not as if his dad or whatever controller was plugged in on that frequency couldn't jump in and issue an immediate correction, just like what happens when you train a new controller. Moreover, pilots were given notification ahead of time that the child may be issuing clearances, hence why none questioned the authenticity of the instructions when queried.

So no, the child was NOT controlling aircraft, the dad was. None of the pilots raised any objections, and this occurred during a "slow" period of air traffic. This would never happen during a high saturation period, and if it did /then/ I would be concerned. As it happens, the transmissions were entirely within context and anticipated by the flight crews, nothing more than takeoff clearances and departure handoffs. The news made much ado about nothing.

There's very few among us in the commercial aviation fraternity who would barbeque this controller for taking his kid into the cab and letting him issue a few casual instructions. The only people who are truly outraged are those who have accumulated a total of ZERO hours in a cockpit, much less spent any time in a tower cab anywhere.

>>JFK tower is an extremely well-run facility, and only the best work there. His father told him exactly what to say, when to say it, and it was a controlled situation. <<

No it was not.  The tower crew had no control over what the kid was saying.  The dad had no control over who heard it.  Directing the operation of a vehicle over the radio is not a controlled situation.  It is nearly the opposite of controlled.

>>So no, the child was NOT controlling aircraft, the dad was. None of the pilots raised any objections, and this occurred during a "slow" period of air traffic. This would never happen during a high saturation period, and if it did /then/ I would be concerned. As it happens, the transmissions were entirely within context and anticipated by the flight crews, nothing more than takeoff clearances and departure handoffs. The news made much ado about nothing.<<

Actually he did botch a call and had to repeat it.  That this went smoothly is luck.  And luck is not supposed to be a factor.

>>There's very few among us in the commercial aviation fraternity who would barbeque this controller for taking his kid into the cab and letting him issue a few casual instructions. The only people who are truly outraged are those who have accumulated a total of ZERO hours in a cockpit, much less spent any time in a tower cab anywhere.<<

Serenity didn't like it so that's just one among the few here, and I've seen others argue it too. And finally, the FAA makes the rules, not the guys who take money to do it.

The kid could have said whatever he wanted, but he didn't.<<

How is that in the controller's hands then?

He said only what he was told to say.<<

How was that in the controller's hands?

If he even tried to start goofing off, his father could've unplugged his headset in an instant.<<

That sounds like somebody REGAINING control.

It's not a matter of luck that no harm was done, the situation was never out of the controller's hands, much less his supervisor's, at any point. Ever.<<

I think you proved the opposite point.  And then you go on to claim that it doesn't matter who's on the mike in the tower because somebody else guides the planes in and somebody else makes sure the runway is clear.  When you know its everybody's job to be 100% responsible 100% of the shift.  If somebody doesn't want that job, let him do the Junior Buddy ATC shtick at Comedy Club and earn a living that way.

@ Acolyte

That only determines if their eligible to serve on duty as Active flyers or Inactive status (ground duty).  Only two rare instances have been allowed and that was flight duty for combat operations.  They were allowed to serve only so many fixed hours, and so many flight operations, whereas those not on the medication may be required to have a more burden ladened operation in the field of combat.  This is from the head Judge Advocate Generals office in washington DC.

A operatinal flying officer in combat is expected to make dozens if not hundreds of sorty's into the field of battle, with hours of operation being anywhere between 8-16 hours in the air for every sorty.  A medicated air flyer is not allowed more than 2-6 sorty's with less than 4-8 hours in the air, making them worthless in a combat operational area.

That's why it's frowned upon in air force.  They need operational pilots, not pilots which may lose it in mid-air because of medication.  And especially any medication where it's anti-depressant. 

"Oh geeze, I feel so sad, I think i'll crash this $2 million dollar aircraft right now..."

Like I said, congress would have a field day with this.

$2 million aircraft with one to two pilots aboard, or small flight crew.

vs.

$2-$30 million dollar aircraft with two pilots, air crew, and 1-350 civilian passangers.

Your absolutely right, two very different beasts all together.

They have a limited window of effectiveness and mood is the last thing to go. First comes appetite and sleep patterns, then cognitive ability. Which also flux with normal people with bad habits. Such as long haul pilots.