Many airline pilots 'depressed and suicidal', study suggests

Hundreds of airline pilots could be flying planes while depressed and suicidal, according to a study.

Findings from an anonymous global survey of 1,848 pilots showed more than 12.6% or 233 met the criteria for clinical depression.

Of this group, 4.1% - a total of 75 pilots - admitted having suicidal thoughts within the previous two weeks.

Ten pilots felt as if they would be "better off dead" almost every day.

Renewed concerns about the psychological state of airline pilots were raised by the US study authors, who claimed the problem was hidden behind a "veil of secrecy".

Commercial airline pilots from more than 50 countries took part in the survey between April and December 2015.

The survey indicated male pilots were more likely to experience daily problems than their female colleagues.

Twenty seven men and four women felt depressed on a daily basis. In addition 34 men had feelings of failure and trouble concentrating nearly every day.

A total of of 3,485 pilots took part in the survey which addressed a range of general health topics, but not all completed it. Of the total, 1,848 answered questions about mental health.

Suicide is thought to have been behind Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz's deliberate decision to crash his plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 passengers and crew on board.

Lubitz, who locked the captain out of the cockpit, had been treated for depression and contacted dozens of doctors in the weeks before the tragedy in March last year.

The study is the first to investigate the mental health of pilots without relying on data from aircraft accident investigations, regulated health check-ups or identifiable self-reports.

Pilots providing information through such official channels were not likely to speak openly about suffering from depression, said the researchers.