Matt McKay

Matt McKay, SMS Consultant

Matthew McKay was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot for 15 years. The second half of his RAAF career was as an instructor rising to the pinnacle of instructional excellence in the Australian Defence Force, and as a member of the RAAF Roulette formation aerobatic team. After leaving the RAAF he lived in Saudi Arabia with his family for 8 years, working as a contract flying instructor for the Royal Saudi Air Force. On return to Australia he joined the Civil Aviation Safety Authority where he became a foremost expert in SMS, providing SMS training for CASA inspectors, and being integral in the development of SMS information for industry. He now works as an SMS consultant in both the aviation industry, as well as off-shore oil and gas installations. Throughout the summer he can be found in Antarctica working for the Australian Antarctic Division.

Mental Health and Aviation

Having an injury and illness is acceptable in any high reliability industry. Systems are set up to absorb this issue. In aviation – with its relatively advanced Human Factors integration – even more so. So why is it that if the illness or injury is mental, does it have such a stigma? Further, how does aviation recruit and retain personnel when mental illness is becoming so prevalent in our society? This session seeks to discuss.