Aviation Attorney Presses FAA to Update Mental Health Policies

This pilot-turned-aviation certificate defense lawyer wants the FAA to develop a more comprehensive system to provide pilots the support they need for mental health concerns.

Michael Wildes

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 04:13 PM ET

Verified

LoRusso, a pilot-turned-lawyer recently joined BusinessAir TV, where he spoke with FLYING COO Preston Holland and Kaylee Nix about the state of mental health support in the aviation industry. [Courtesy: Flying Magazine]

Key Takeaways:

Aviation attorney Joe LoRusso asserts that the FAA's pilot mental health regulations are "inadequate" and "out of touch with current clinical medicine," having not been updated since the 1980s.
LoRusso criticizes the HIMS program for losing its clinical focus and argues that current FAA rules unfairly disqualify pilots for common, treatable conditions like anxiety or situational depression.
He emphasizes the need for fundamental regulatory changes through rulemaking, dismissing the FAA's current mental health awareness campaigns as insufficient.

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Aviation attorney Joe LoRusso is a “fierce advocate” for supporting pilot mental health and has made it his business to do so—at least that’s how he’d put it, based on his profile at Ramos Law.

LoRusso is a lead aviation attorney at the firm, but before that, he was a pilot. The pilot-turned-lawyer recently joined BusinessAir TV, where he spoke with FLYING COO Preston Holland and Kaylee Nix about the state of mental health support in the aviation industry.