Brussels, 14/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - Among the points raised in the final report on the crash of Germanwings flight 9525 in March 2015, French investigators of the Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyse (BEA) call on the European Commission to define clear rules requiring healthcare providers to inform the relevant authorities if they believe that a patient represents a threat to the safety of flights.
The report, which was made public on Sunday 13 March, says that “a fair balance has to be struck between patient confidentiality and protecting public safety”. It argues that it has to be disclosed if it is felt an individual might pose a threat to public safety - even in cases where the individual concerned does not wish any such disclosure.
The rules that the Commission is being called on to draft must ensure that the healthcare providers who make disclosures about the mental state of patients do not leave themselves open to “legal risks” and that the personal data of patients are not revealed unnecessarily. The rules must be such that they do not prevent pilots from feeling able to speak about their psychological state during medical examinations for fear of repercussions that could put an end to their flying career.
“The Commission will study the report carefully and will inform the BEA within 90 days of action being taken or under consideration”, said Jakub Adamowicz on behalf of the Commission on Monday 14 March.
In general terms, the recommendations made by the BEA are of two types: on the one hand, the medical issues and the need to balance medical confidentiality and flight safety and, on the other cockpit security, balancing security requirements with the demands of flight safety. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks (11 September 2001), cockpit doors have to be lockable from the inside. Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot who deliberately flew the Germanwings plane into a mountainside in the French Alps, had locked himself inside the cockpit after the pilot had left him alone (see EUROPE 111281).
In October, the Commission published an action plan on air safety based on European Air Safety Agency recommendations (see EUROPE 11414). Among the initiatives proposed by the Commission was the establishment of a European aeromedical data repository. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)