It's time for new rules after Germanwings tragedy

Trust.

It’s something that is paramount in our personal relationships.

At work trust is a two-way street between management and employees — and visa-versa.

In day-to-day life we all put implicit trust in so many areas it is difficult to quantify them.

But sometimes, when you least expect it, that trust is shattered in the most outlandish manner, as was the case March 24 when an obscure German, Andreas Lubitz, became the center of conversations in nations across the globe.

It was the 27-year-old Lubitz, the co-pilot of a Germanwings Airbus A320 who took command of the plane and flew the aircraft into the side of a mountain in the French Alps, killing himself and 149 other innocent and terrorized souls.

Certainly, there were those who boarded the plane that morning in Barcelona, Spain who had trepidations about flying. Many people do in general, and since the 1970s —and more specifically after 9-11 — the specter of terrorism is in the minds of many as they walk down the jetway.

But that a member of the aircraft’s crew — whose job is to chauffer you along at 600 miles-per-hour at 35,000 feet from point-A to point-B —might consider such an ending is unthinkable.

Now with the revelations of Lubitz’s intention, could it maybe have been a similar fate surrounding the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 just 13 months ago?

Conspiracy theories aside, the most important discussions now revolves around the post-crash investigation, and what is being learned about Lubitz.

After examining his computer’s hard drive, authorities discovered Lubitz had been researching subjects on the Internet such as treatment for depression, suicide and cockpit doors.

In addition, there are reports that his vision, a crucial component of an airline pilot, was in question. His dream job was certainly in jeopardy.

But just as Lubitz kept those close to him — and maybe most importantly his employers — in the dark about what troubled him, we as a society largely keep discussions of mental illness locked away in the closet.

Mental illness is one of those diseases that we just don’t talk about, or adequately fund to combat as we do with cancer and heart disease. We choose to easily dismiss its symptoms and generally speak about it in whisper tones.

The challenge in combatting mental illness, however, is that it is not easily diagnosed. There are no MRIs or X-rays or easily identifiable tests that can spot it.

But in the case of Lubitz, does an individual such as he have the right to keep his illnesses from his supervisors?

There just has to be a point where in some occupations where the rights of the public supersede the privacy of the individual. Somebody as troubled as Lubitz cannot keep their problems, such as he had, private.

This would apply to all types of jobs, bus drivers, police officers, railroad engineers, teachers, and the list goes on. Those who the public entrusts their safety to, need to be held to different standards when it comes to things that could jeopardize public safety.

Along with the hush-hush treatment given talk about mental health, the same can be said in large part about suicide. While there needs to be a dialogue, many times those affected by suicide do not want to talk about it due to the deep painful scars it leaves.

And talking with experts in the field cannot provide that “true been there, done that insight.”

A case in point for the Free Press was being fortunate to interview and write about that ever-so-rare suicide survivor, Golden Gate Bridge jumper Kevin Hines who now shares first-hand his battle with mental illness, and surviving the leap.

Any suicide gets down to mental health and it’s way past time to have as many conversations as it takes to bring these topics out of the closet.