Holding a valid medical certificate means you are legally current, but does it mean you are truly ready for the flight deck?
Experts at the 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE). shared tips on leveraging wellness resources and news on the evolving FAA medical certification system.
Building a Healthier Culture
Panelists described the stigma surrounding mental health challenges in pilots and shared how we can build a healthier culture, including using peer support resources and seeking early intervention.
Xyla Foxlin, mechatronics engineer, pilot and creator, advocates for mental health legislation and policy to keep pilots flying safely.
“We are such a checklist based, very pragmatic field, but much of the knowledge that we have is institutional. Most pilots are not going to go to the FAA’s website. They’re listening to another pilot and hear their career is over. Breaking that cycle that’s potentially decades old is very, very difficult,” Foxlin said.
Ego, self-identity and vulnerability all contribute to the stigma in seeking mental health care.
Peter Whitten, commercial director at OdiliaClark, shared his personal experience with grief that spurred his passion for promoting mental health and developing resources for the aviation community.
“The first time someone was listening to hear me was in peer support,” said Whitten. “I remember how powerful that was - to be heard, to be empathized with and to be honestly listened too. It’s so rare in our world to stop and actually be heard.”
FAA Policies and Guidance Update
“Our aeromedical policies are living, and we focus on the ‘three Es’ – education, early intervention and evolving standards,” said FAA Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup.
Some of the most critical evolutions to recent aeromedical policies are related to mental health conditions and medical certification.
“In 2022, there were two suicides of university students and that’s when it really hit, in conjunction with COVID, and the generation that we currently have coming in, that were raised during the time we were actively trying destigmatizing mental illness,” said Northrup.
The FAA has recently authorized the use of more antidepressant medications, reduced the timeframe for how long a pilot must be stable on a specific dose and worked to speed up the medical certification process.
The agency also frequently updates the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners and other resources to help “preflight” your medical. Northrup reminded attendees that well-prepared applications are processed quickly.
Applicants with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder now receive faster processes and other internal changes allow the chief psychiatrist to focus on the toughest cases.
Meanwhile, a recommendation from the recent Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to make talk therapy non-reportable has resulted in new guidance for providers on what therapy needs to be reported and if so, how to report it.
Northrup gave this advice: get help early. Early intervention is more likely to result in a positive outcome.