{"id":35376,"date":"2026-05-25T15:50:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T15:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=35376"},"modified":"2026-05-25T15:50:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T15:50:31","slug":"aopa-continues-mental-health-initiative-with-new-interview-education-material","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/aopa-continues-mental-health-initiative-with-new-interview-education-material\/%20","title":{"rendered":"AOPA Continues Mental Health Initiative with New Interview, Education Material"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) continues to highlight the importance of mental health during its monthlong initiative with the release of a new interview<\/a> with Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup and a new elective in the AOPA Air Safety Institute\u2019s electronic Flight Instructor Refresher Course (eFIRC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany pilots have been wary of seeking treatment for mental health concerns out of fear they would no longer be allowed to fly,\u201d said AOPA Acting Co-President Katie Pribyl. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a high level of engagement with this initiative, and we believe it\u2019s because there are pilots out there who want to know their options, while also wanting the stigma to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Northrup, who leads the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine, said her team continues to explore ways to help make the process smoother and allow pilots access to a wider range of medications, while also highlighting important resources and reducing the amount of time some pilots have to wait for the FAA to review their medical application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to do everything we can to make our processes more transparent, more consistent, and quite frankly, getting the knowledge out there so that people know what to expect, and of course we want it to be timely,\u201d said Dr. Northrup. \u201cAs a result of that, we\u2019ve also been looking very closely at the policies and procedures that we have internally to be sure that we are keeping up with current medicine and medical practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Northrup also discussed an upcoming amnesty program to encourage pilots to self-report past diagnoses and treatment but noted it may require pilots to self-ground while their case is evaluated, though it would not result in consequences for past falsification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings are moving in the right direction but, like anything involving pilots and safety, it takes time,\u201d said AOPA Acting Co-President Jill Baker. \u201cOur goal this month is for pilots to understand the resources that are available today, and that AOPA has your back. All AOPA members have the benefit of our Pilot Information Center, and every year, our medical certification team helps thousands of pilots understand the process and then, if they require a special issuance, can help them through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASI\u2019s eFIRC has also released a new elective as part of this month\u2019s initiative, making it the only flight instructor refresher course that offers mental health content. Thousands of instructors complete a FIRC every two years to stay current as a CFI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI take AOPA\u2019s eFIRC every two years, and this elective is a great addition,\u201d said Pribyl. \u201cIt focuses on what CFIs can do to support themselves, how they can help their students, and updates on significant FAA mental health policy changes in the last five years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remaining programming includes a dedicated webinar with Reini Thijssen on pilot mental health today. The next day, the AOPA Air Safety Institute will release a second installment of its Expert Insights video series focused on mental health. \u201cMind of a Pilot\u201d with neurologist Dr. Billy Hoffman covers unique perspectives on the effects of stress, medications, alcohol, and aging on aeronautical decision making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) continues to highlight the importance of mental health during its monthlong initiative with the release of a new interview with Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup and a new elective in the AOPA Air Safety Institute\u2019s electronic Flight Instructor Refresher Course (eFIRC). \u201cMany pilots have been wary of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35376"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35377,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35376\/revisions\/35377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}