EU safety body aims to create a pilots’ medical history database

In light of the findings of the enquiry into the crash of Germanwings flight 9525, the European Aviation Safety Agency is aiming to create a Pilots’ medical database that will hold records of every pilot’s medical history and any visits to medical facilities, whether for physical or psychological assessment and or treatment.
The move comes as a further improvement to passenger safety after it was confirmed that the co-pilot of flight 9525, Andreas Lubitz, locked the pilot out of the cabin, then deliberately crashed the Germanwings aircraft into the French Alps north-west of Nice. It was subsequently discovered that Lubitz had been treated for suicidal tendencies and had also been previously deemed unfit for work, two pieces of information he chose not to reveal to his employers.
Currently pilots are able to seek medical advice from any source and if they choose not to reveal any critical information relating to their ability and or suitability to fly an aircraft then there is a very strong possibility that appropriate authorities cannot be made aware of this. It is only the UK which has a procedure in place where doctors are expected to report any concerns they may have about a patient if there is likely to be a compromise to public safety as a result of their condition.
The intention behind this database is to avoid what is referred to as ‘medical tourism’ where a pilot may seek medical advice from a specialist in a country far from their home in an attempt to keep results secret. The single database would avoid this, but the principle hurdle to the current creation of one involves the varying data protection laws that exist from country to country, something that is beyond the EASA remit.
The EASA has confirmed it will leave data protection matters to the executive European Commission, which has also launched a legal challenge against Germany over its pilot license renewal practices because it considers that privacy is given too much weight to the detriment of safety.