UND-led proposal seeks state support to create North Dakota Center for Aerospace Medicine to help pilots, air-traffic workers with mental-health certification

Representative Lana Bail (R-District 17) told the Senate Human Services Committee that House Bill 1612 would establish a North Dakota Center for Aerospace Medicine (NDCAM) at the University of North Dakota to support pilots, air-traffic professionals and the state’s aerospace workforce.

Bail opened with a personal account and asked lawmakers to consider policy and clinical tools that would reduce barriers pilots face when seeking mental-health care. “John left this Earth asking us to fulfill his mission of change in the aviation industry,” she said, referencing a UND student who died by suicide and urged the state to create resources tailored to aerospace professionals.

Why it matters: Witnesses said pilots and other aviation workers face uniquely punitive certification rules administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Testimony from UND clinicians and psychologists emphasized that pilots often avoid needed mental-health care because disclosing treatment can trigger FAA review and the potential temporary loss of a medical certificate and the ability to fly.

What proponents told the committee - Dr. Skye Overbow, UND’s embedded aviation psychologist, said pilots must hold FAA medical certificates and that a mental-health diagnosis or certain medications can trigger complex special-issuance processes that often require months of stabilization and costly evaluations. “Pilots and air traffic controllers face a complex and intimidating system when dealing with health concerns,” Overbow said.

- Jess Doty, director of UND Student Health Services, described existing UND capacity — AMEs (aviation medical examiners), counseling services and trained clinicians — and said the requested one-time appropriation would be a start to expand services statewide. Doty said the model includes clinical services, education to train more providers in aviation-specific care, and research in partnership with the FAA.

- UND and the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission said the state’s aviation and aerial-application economy is large and growing; witnesses argued that recruiting and keeping a healthy aviation workforce is in the state’s economic interest.

Policy and operational details - The bill requests a one-time appropriation (testimony identified $500,000) to seed the center’s startup: hiring staff with aerospace mental-health expertise, expanding FAA-certified exam capacity, and supporting research and outreach.

- Proponents emphasized the center would not supplant community care but would provide FAA-knowledgeable clinicians and coordinate statewide access, reduce travel burdens for pilots who now must often leave the state for evaluations, and create a hub to work with the FAA on policy and research.

Questions from lawmakers and panelists - Committee members asked whether existing community resources could be adapted; witnesses said adaptation is important but insufficient because many non-aviation clinicians lack familiarity with FAA rules and the special-issuance process.

- UND and other witnesses said the FAA is engaged and interested in collaborating; testimony described an FAA staff member embedded with UND’s research work.

Next steps - Supporters asked the committee to give the bill a favorable recommendation so UND can expand the network of AMEs, train HIMSS AMEs for substance-use and mental-health cases, and establish a statewide referral and training system. No formal vote was recorded at the close of the hearing.