How are mentally ill pilots kept out of the air? My book, Can’t Be Trusted, provides one example in answer to that question.
It is a memoir about engineering, aviation, and mental health. I provide details of my upbringing and accomplishments in life to try to persuade readers that I do not have schizophrenia as claimed by the FAA. It is a book where engineering is a grand endeavor and the nerds are the heroes. It is also about aeromedicine and psychiatry. Computer scientists, engineers, physicists, and psychiatrists might be interested in such a read.
The interchanges with the aeromedical authorities and a concurring opinion written on the Yale University letterhead are printed in an appendix. One issue was the free mixing of pre- and post-DSM-III terminology without ever acknowledging the existence of the DSM. Yale defended the practice.
The details of my mental health history are covered frankly in the book. I do not claim a perfect record and some people I know feel I should not be flying. Readers can decide for themselves. I am not an emotional cripple. I am happily married with two adult children and I am a successful laser engineer with a Ph.D. from MIT.
More information is contained at the link, including a 10-minute video introduction to the book.
Bart Johnson
