It's a tough call. How far in the future are therapists
   responsible for disclosure? It seems most of his treatments were
   from a long time ago and, well, he never disclosed them.

   Yet, it seems to me that any position where there is a great
   responsibility placed on clear thinking, there should be some
   "closed records cracking open" that's required. I'd get
   permission of the pilot student, and once that permission was in
   place, then there should be a process of discovery.

   In other words, his records would happily stay sealed, except in
   certain cases, such as pilots, or train drivers, or bus drivers,
   and the like, at the level of commercial travel.

   This would require law changes and shouldn't have to be the
   responsibility of the individual therapist or an individual
   company. The secrecy laws are in place to protect the individual
   and give them a chance to have a future; bouts of depression or
   suicidal thoughts when you're young shouldn't automatically
   prevent you from having a future.

   Yet... I think disclosure should be required. A "two pilot" rule
   required. Most airlines have a required 2-pilots-always rule...
   this airline did not.

   Hindsight *is* 20/20 and when it comes down to it, the guy is,
   sadly a murderer. Why did he chose at that moment to make that
   decision to do what he did and carry it through?

   Well, he made a decision.

   All the disclosure in the world won't prevent every tragedy
   because: He made a bad choice. We can all make a bad choice.

   But even if not perfect, I think systems and processes should be
   put into place at the levels of government regulation, and
   internally bolstered within the airlines themselves. Regarding
   the psychology/therapist fields - They should retain most of the
   privacy laws in place regarding patient confidentiality but
   extend disclosure requirements to certain professions that can
   potentially risk the lives of large amounts of people.

   I'd put the process IN PLACE that allows a line of communication
   between therapist and future occupation. As of right now, it
   doesn't seem the therapist has much of a choice, without risking
   their career. Such a heavy burden shouldn't be placed on the
   individual therapist/counsellor - when the whole government and
   corporate and legal structure doesn't support a whistleblowing
   decision..

   The support should be in place. I don't blame the therapists at
   all. They did what they could within the realms within which
   they had control. Who could have predicted his intent
   successfully? At present, no one.

   He chose.

   People died.

   He murdered people.

   And it's really really crappy for those left behind.

   I just hope procedures are put in place to make open
   communication easier, while allowing most of the confidentiality
   to remain for the majority of situations. And if they improve
   the communication, I don't think that suicidal ideation would
   necessarily be a 'deal breaker' for pilots; I mean, there's
   HUMANS up there flying. Too much trust in a single human is not
   a good idea. He could have had his underpants on backwards that
   morning, so to speak. Nobody else was there to take the stick
   from him to regain control.

   I could be wrong about all of that. I'm just glad I'm way over
   here in Florida, and not one of the families left behind, nor
   _anybody_ who is involved in sorting out this mess. It can't be
   easy.

   I'm lucky. I just have to read the news/see a post on facebook
   and express an opinion. My responsibility ends there.