D66: pilots must take psychological exams

The D66 wants pilots to regularly undergo a mandatory psychological test. With this they hope to prevent future tragedies like the Germanwings accident in March, which was caused by the psychologically troubled co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. "Currently pilots undergo  complete psychological test once", said D66 parliamentarian Wassila Hachchi, AD reports. "And that is at the beginning of their careers. After that there is no obligation to do so." She points out that drivers are regularly tested. Hachchi will ask State Secretary Wilma Mansveld to do something about this. After the Germanwings accident, the European association for aviation psychologists EAAP also called for a recurrent psychological evaluation for pilots. They want this to happen in addition to the annual medical test. Aviation psychologist Lucas van Gerwen agrees. He thinks that pilots' annual tests should be performed by two people. "Someone for the physical part, and someone for the mental part."