‘Antiquated’ mental health rules for pilots would be overhauled under U.S. House bill

Planes land and take off in this file photo from 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Monday that would force the Federal Aviation Administration to make a sweeping overhaul of what critics call antiquated pilot mental health rules.

The Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025 is the most significant move yet in ending FAA policies that effectively ban commercial pilots from seeking any mental health - including therapy. The current rules impose “a culture of silence that is affecting safety,” according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.

Advocates for the bill say the move is a huge step in addressing the long-standing stigma—and lack of support—for the mental health of pilots.

“For so long, people were like, ‘I can never be sad,’” Chris Finlayson, Executive Director of the Pilot Mental Health Campaign and commercial pilot for a major airline, told CNN. “Now, all of a sudden, the pilot population has realized that reform is actually coming.”

The bill mandates the FAA enact 24 recommendations from an aviation rule-making committee within two years, forcing the agency to address a backlog of pilot medical certifications with special exceptions as well as hire FAA physicians with mental health backgrounds.

CNN has reached out to the FAA for a comment on the bill.

Pilots need both a medical examination and certificate from the FAA to fly. Commercial airline pilots are required to hold what’s called a first-class medical certificate, which mandates a visit to an FAA-designated doctor, known as an aviation medical examiner, every 12 months for pilots 40 years old and younger. Older pilots are required to get an examination every six months. On exam forms submitted to the FAA, pilots are required to self-disclose “mental disorders of any sort; depression, anxiety, etc.” leading many pilots to avoid seeking care.

“This often leaves the folks tasked with keeping our skies safe with an absolutely terrible choice: get help, and put your career and your paycheck on hold, or keep your career on track and just hope you’ll get better,” said a statement from House Democrat Sean Casten of Illinois who cosponsored the bill. “It doesn’t make our skies safer but it does lead to horrible and avoidable tragedies.”

The issue of pilot mental health was thrust into the spotlight in October 2023 when off-duty pilot Joseph Emerson was charged with trying to crash an Alaska Airlines flight as he flew as a passenger in the cockpit. Immediately following the incident, Emerson told police he had not slept in 40 hours, recently experimented with “magic mushrooms,” and had been depressed for months, if not years. He entered a guilty plea as part of a deal with prosecutors last week.

The bill now moves to the Senate, Finlayson told CNN, with efforts underway to pass a companion bill.

“This makes our sky safer,” he said. “This is a massive step forward.”

Pete Muntean, CNN