AOPA Launches Pilot Mental Health Awareness Campaign

AOPA is devoting the month of May to pilot mental health, launching a campaign aimed at helping aviators better understand available resources while continuing to push for changes to the FAA medical certification process.

Timed to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month, the initiative brings together articles, videos, webinars, and interviews centered on a topic that many pilots still hesitate to openly discuss. Concerns over losing a medical certificate have long discouraged some aviators from seeking treatment, even as the FAA has taken steps in recent years to ease pathways for pilots managing certain mental health conditions.

AOPA leaders said the organization wants to make it clear that seeking help does not automatically mean the end of a flying career.

“Mental health remains one of the biggest challenges facing pilots and the aviation industry today,” AOPA Acting Co-President Katie Pribyl said in a statement announcing the effort. She noted that AOPA has spent years working with Congress and the FAA on reforms intended to reduce barriers for pilots navigating the medical system.

Acting Co-President Jill Baker said the issue affects pilots at every level, from students to airline captains, and stressed that pilots should not feel isolated when dealing with mental health concerns.

Resources released so far include an interview with pilot Xyla Foxlin about regaining her FAA medical certificate, a new video series focused on mental performance and a feature examining the role of aviation psychiatrists. Later this month, AOPA plans to interview Federal Air Surgeon Susan Northrup about medical certification reform and host a May 21 webinar with pilot counselor Reini Thijssen. The organization also said it will expand mental health education resources for CFIs and continue compiling materials in its online Mental Health Resource Center.