The Pilots Pandemic

In this episode, we were joined by Veteran JTAC and Pilot, Shannon Cruz. Shannon has an impressive 3700 flight hours, multiple combat decorations, and 21 years of military service. Despite this, Shannon has been fighting to get back his medical and hard-earned pilot's licenses for over two years. Unfortunately, he is 1 of 5000 pilots involved in the VA record pull by the FAA. To help support and advocate for pilot mental health please visit www.pmhc.org. Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepilotspandemic/

We have returned from our break… but with very somber news.

This week’s guest is an honorary favorite of The Pilots Pandemic Podcast, Cargo Pilot, Fareed Guyot. Fareed has been an ardent supporter of mental health reform in aviation and shared our message of mental health advocacy on EAA radio at Osh Kosh last year as well as most recently on his local news network. Fareed has successfully navigated the Special Issuance process for generalized anxiety and will be joining us in Washington DC as part of the Pilot Mental Health Campaign to lobby our congressional leaders for change. Fareed shares about his career track to the airlines and what he went through during his journey to his Special Issuance medical. If you or a loved one is struggling, help is available. Dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. SOCIAL LINKS- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/thepilotspandemic https://instagram.com/emneonicon https://Instagram.com/thefitaviatrix https://instagram.com/pilotmentalhealth Link for aeromedical reform petition: https://www.change.org/apilotspandemic WEBSITE: https://msha.ke/thepilotspandemic/ www.pmhc.org SPONSORS: www.avi-foods.com @avi_foods_co Code:pilotspandemic

We are solo this week and recapping all of our highlights after attending the NGPA winter warm up expo in Palm Springs, CA. From the cholla garden to the club and everything in between. Listen now to hear more… If you or a loved one is struggling, help is available. Dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. SOCIAL LINKS- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/thepilotspandemic https://instagram.com/emneonicon https://Instagram.com/thefitaviatrix https://instagram.com/pilotmentalhealth Link for aeromedical reform petition: https://www.change.org/apilotspandemic WEBSITE: https://msha.ke/thepilotspandemic/ www.pmhc.org SPONSORS: www.avi-foods.com @avi_foods_co Code:pilotspandemic

Our guest this week is Zack Friedman. Zack is an incredibly outspoken aeromedical reform advocate who we connected with on LinkedIn. In 2022 after seeking his medical for flight training he hit a road block for disclosing treatment for anxiety and acne. Zack has been waiting to get back in left seat for almost 2 years. On this episode he walks us through his experience so far, which highlights the many inconsistencies and flaws with the FAA aeromedical system and mental health policies. Listen now to hear more… If you or a loved one is struggling, help is available. Dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. SOCIAL LINKS- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/thepilotspandemic https://instagram.com/emneonicon https://Instagram.com/thefitaviatrix https://instagram.com/pilotmentalhealth Link for aeromedical reform petition: https://www.change.org/apilotspandemic WEBSITE: https://msha.ke/thepilotspandemic/ www.pmhc.org SPONSORS: www.avi-foods.com @avi_foods_co Code:pilotspandemic