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Nearly 5,000 Commercial Pilots Are Under Investigation For Hiding Health Problems

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Erin Marquis
·2 min read
Three airline pilots in white shirts with black caps and black and white striped ties stand shoulder to shoulder in front of airport check in.
Three airline pilots in white shirts with black caps and black and white striped ties stand shoulder to shoulder in front of airport check in.


United Airlines pilots participate in a picket line during a protest at Washington Dulles International Airport May 12, 2023 in Dulles, Virginia. Ahead of a busy summer travel season, United pilots are pressing airline management for higher wages after working without an increase for over four years.

It takes a lot to be a pilot, but thousands of pilots are out there flying right now while claiming mental and physical disabilities from the government that would bar them from getting in the captain’s chair.

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and Veterans Affairs are investigating around 4,800 veterans-turned-pilots for claiming benefits on disabilities that would make them ineligible to fly. Of the 4,800 pilots under investigation, half have had their files closed by the FAA, but 600 passenger aircraft pilots remain under investigation. The FAA has already ordered at least 60 pilots to stop flying while their records are reviewed. The Washington Post reports the problem comes from pilots over stating their disabilities to the VA while downplaying those same disabilities to the FAA:

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While not exactly the most honest strategy, getting everything you can out of our crooked government after you served in the armed forces seems like a smart move. Unfortunately, mental health is a common claim with the VA for benefits and the main suspect in some of the worst air travel disasters of the last two decades. While America hasn’t seen a death via passenger plane since 2009, suicidal pilots are suspected in 2015 Germanwings jet crash, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in 2014 and a crash of a Chinese plane just last year.