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The crash of a Germanwings plane last week and the news that its co-pilot had been treated for depression and suicidal tendencies raise questions about how to keep pilots with mental health problems from possibly putting passengers at risk. One step is broadly adopting recommendations an aerospace medical group made in 2012, after a JetBlue pilot suffered an apparent mental breakdown during a flight.

The Aerospace Medical Association released a report recommending that depression and substance abuse screening be added to health examinations for pilots. The report also said that employee assistance programs in which pilots could discuss mental health issues without fear of reprisal made them more likely to come forward.

Pilot health screenings in the United States and in Europe still typically focus on physical ailments, according to a report in The Times. Pilots are expected to tell their employers if they think they have a health problem that could hamper their ability to fly. But those suffering from mental illness are often reluctant to talk about their conditions because they worry about being fired.

For a different model, airlines might look to the medical profession. Physician health programs, which exist in 47 states, perform assessments and offer screening for doctors dealing with conditions like mental illness and addiction. Doctors can contact these programs themselves, but colleagues may also refer a doctor if they are concerned about his or her performance. The programs assess whether a doctor’s condition poses an on-the-job threat and what treatment, if any, is needed.

Some doctors are monitored for months or even years after their initial referral. Some are judged unfit to continue practicing. But making clear that treatment options are available, and that entering treatment need not necessarily end a career, encourages doctors to get help before their illnesses become so severe they can no longer work.

The Allied Pilots Association, the pilots’ union for American Airlines, instituted a program in 2011 that allows pilots to seek help. At a 2014 conference, the president of the Aerospace Medical Association noted that this program had led to a significant increase in the number of pilots reporting their mental health issues and receiving assistance. A systematic process within the whole airline industry to provide mental health assessments and help pilots get treatment is not too much to ask. (New York Times/The Editorial Board)

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