The complementary standard set by the International Civil Aviation Organization for its 185 member countries requires a medical checkup every 12 months. The authorities have yet to prove that suicide was the cause of the EgyptAir crash on Oct. 31, but Egypt, as a member of the international organization, has agreed to meet that minimum standard, although its civil aviation authority, like the FAA, could require more frequent checkups. Pilots in the United States are also required to have their flying skills evaluated by a pilot instructor on a simulator at least once a year. And they are subject to surprise checks by FAA inspectors and random drug tests by their employers. In addition, the aviation agency says that it keeps a record of all pilots' driver's licenses, which the agency compares to a national registry of people arrested for drunken driving.
Some airlines go further than the agency rules.
United Airlines, for example, the world's largest airline, requires pilots to undergo an annual company physical that includes questions about their personal lives. Both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, the nation's second and third-largest carriers, declined to comment on their policies. Pilots' unions oppose the expansion of psychological testing because they say the current tests are unreliable and the problem is extremely rare. But despite the various requirements, individual pilots are able to hide problems like drug abuse and alcoholism that would bar them from flying. One pilot at a major airline continued to fly, even though he had had his driver's license revoked for drunken driving and had been arrested for beating his girlfriend while he was drunk.