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Central Texans advocate for FAA reform
Advocates and lawmakers are pushing to reform the way the FAA handles mental health and other medical conditions as legislation to reauthorize the agency through Fiscal Year 2028 makes its way through Congress.
UPDATE 4/4/2024: The Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee released its recommendations for Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances to the FAA. Read them here.
AUSTIN, Texas - Advocates and lawmakers are pushing to reform the way the FAA handles mental health and other medical conditions as legislation to reauthorize the agency through Fiscal Year 2028 makes its way through Congress.
In February, FOX 7 spoke with Dripping Springs native Kevin Voorheis, a veteran and commercial airline pilot. FOX 7 spoke to him again about a month later as he and his family were meeting with members of Congress and their staff.
"Some of the best success we've had is referring them to some of their colleagues who have heard about this issue and they're moving on this issue," said Voorheis.
As FOX 7 previously reported, the FAA and VA have been cross-checking medical records, noting some veterans working as pilots had received VA benefits for conditions they did not disclose to the FAA.
For certain medical history found – even a years-old diagnosis – pilots may be grounded or forced to undergo treatments and vetting by FAA specialists, which can be a laborious process.
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Pilot speaks out about FAA, mental health
A local commercial pilot said he can no longer fly, as of now, because of how the FAA is addressing veterans and mental health. He said his story highlights a much broader dilemma.
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According to the FAA, out of the roughly 4,800 veteran pilots that were looked at, as of June, the agency had closed approximately 2,550 cases due to "incorrect information or other types of administrative errors" or because the pilots had already reported their conditions.
"The FAA is doing its part to ensure that the information on file for Airman Medical Certificate holders is accurate and complete," an FAA spokesperson told FOX 7.
As of June, the FAA had grounded approximately 60 pilots so that staff could work with them to "reconcile their records."
Voorheis is one of those pilots. He said he received treatment for depression, anxiety and insomnia roughly a decade ago after getting out of the military and hasn’t since.
He and other advocates believe the current system encourages pilots to hide medical history or ignore getting treatment for a condition altogether in order to protect their job.
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They also believe it unfairly targets veterans.
"Kevin would not be going through this if he hadn’t been in the military and that’s really sad," said Terry Vorheis, Kevin’s mother. "If he hadn’t served his country he would be flying right now."
Voorheis and his family are hoping the final version of the FAA Reauthorization Act will thoroughly address their concerns.
"There's some language in there already, and it's extremely vague, and I don't believe it will result in any meaningful changes," he said.
It’s something U.S. Representative Sean Casten (D-Illinois) first caught wind of a couple of years ago. He said he got two calls within a six-month period detailing the stories of two different people with similar stories.
"They had taken their own lives while in flight school, and their stories were almost shockingly the same, that they were struggling with mental health issues, that they needed to get help," he said. "But under FAA rules, if they asked for any kind of counseling, if they self-diagnosed or needed help, they were immediately grounded for six months."
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Normalizing the conversation about mental wellness
Turning pain into purpose to normalize the conversation around mental wellness. It's what Carmela Wallace, the founder and mother behind the nonprofit organization Live Free 999, aims to do. And in this mission, alongside her is Doctor Uri Turner, who serves as the chief health officer with Crisis Text Line.
Rep. Casten’s office has written up potential bill language that could stand alone or be included in the FAA Reauthorization Act. However, they are holding off until the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee submits its recommendations to the FAA.
"We're playing catch up a little bit, but I don't think it's bad intent," said Rep. Casten. "I think it's just bad incentives and not being honest about mental health that's gotten us to this point."
The rulemaking committee, established by FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker in December, is expected to release the recommendations by the end of March.
"Imagine being that pilot who had the back of the fuselage blow off mid-flight, and holy smokes, what an amazing job that team did of landing the plane, getting it down, everybody getting off safely," said Casten. "But you might be a little shook when you landed, right? And for the safety of everybody on that next plane, if you felt like when you got off that plane, ‘I would just like to talk to somebody, I'd like to get my blood pressure down,’ you shouldn't be penalized for doing that."