Mental health in flight training: A comparison of Part 61 and Part 141 flight schools

The purpose of this study was to determine if conducting flight training under Part 61 versus Part 141 offers mental health advantages or supports and if one training program over the other encouraged mental health treatment, has more mental health resources, and creates less training anxiety. A research questionnaire was created for this mixed-methods study and was completed by pilots who have conducted flight training in the last five years. The data revealed what schools provided mental health resources and how many students from both Part 61 and Part 141 programs elected to utilize mental health resources within or outside of their school. Flexibility of scheduling in a Part 61 program and the structured lessons and stage checks of Part 141 were analyzed to determine if they reduced training anxiety. The study also analyzed Imposter Syndrome and found it was experienced by two thirds of respondents at some point in their life and nearly half of respondents experienced it specifically during their flight training. Imposter Syndrome was reported equally in Part 61 and Part 141 programs as well as across gender and age demographics.