If you fly commercially in Europe, or you employ people who do, one short regulatory reference quietly shapes how pilots are recruited and cleared to fly: CAT.GEN.MPA.175. It is easy to treat it as another compliance box to tick. It is far more important than that — and understanding it properly protects pilots, airlines, and passengers alike.
Why this rule exists
On 24 March 2015, a first officer deliberately flew Germanwings Flight 9525 into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. In the aftermath, European regulators asked an uncomfortable question: how had the aviation system so completely missed what was happening to one of its own crew members? The answer exposed a gap. Aviation had rigorous standards for medical fitness, licensing, and English proficiency — but very little that systematically addressed a pilot's psychological suitability and mental fitness before they began line flying.
CAT.GEN.MPA.175 is part of the regulatory response to that gap. It was introduced through Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/1042, which amended the core air operations regulation (EU) No 965/2012, and it has applied since 14 February 2021 following a two-year transition period. The intention is not bureaucratic. It is to make sure that the human being in the flight deck has been thoughtfully assessed by someone qualified to do it.
What the regulation actually requires
In plain terms: an operator must ensure that flight crew undergo a psychological assessment before they commence line flying. The assessment may be carried out up to 24 months beforehand, and it must be validated and either performed by, or overseen by, a psychologist with genuine aviation knowledge and expertise in psychological assessment.
The accompanying guidance sets out what a compliant assessment should cover, including at least four areas:
- Cognitive abilities
- Personality traits
- Operational and professional competencies
- Social competences, in line with Crew Resource Management principles
And it is not enough to simply run a test. Operators are expected to document the procedures followed, the personnel involved, the assessment criteria and instruments used, and the period for which the assessment remains valid. You can read the consolidated requirement, with its Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material, in the EASA Easy Access Rules for Air Operations.
One important clarification
EASA's own guidance is explicit on this point: a psychological assessment conducted for an operator under CAT.GEN.MPA.175 should not be conducted as a clinical psychological evaluation. It is not there to diagnose or treat. It is a structured, aviation-specific assessment of suitability and fitness for the operational environment. That is different from a separate aeromedical mental-health evaluation, which is a distinct, clinical process under the Part-MED rules and handled by suitably qualified clinicians. This distinction matters enormously — for pilots worried about what the process means, and for airlines who need to understand what they are, and are not, obtaining.
For airlines and operators: this is your obligation
Read the regulation carefully and one thing becomes clear: the responsibility sits with the operator, not the individual pilot. It is the airline that must ensure the assessment happens, that it meets the criteria, that it is overseen by a suitably qualified psychologist, and that it is properly documented for the competent authority. When an auditor asks how you comply with CAT.GEN.MPA.175, “we asked candidates to fill in a questionnaire” is not an answer that will survive scrutiny.
Done well, this is not a burden — it is a genuine safety and recruitment asset. A properly designed assessment improves the quality of your hiring decisions, reduces the risk of costly training failures, and demonstrates a mature safety culture to your regulator. There is also a practical efficiency worth knowing: an assessment performed for one operator may, under the right conditions, be accepted by another, provided it was conducted in line with the requirements.
There is a catch worth being honest about, though: genuinely qualified providers are scarce. Worldwide there are only around a hundred aviation psychologists accredited by the EAAP, and fewer still who pair that accreditation with real operational experience in the industry. The rules do allow smaller operators, in proportion to the size and complexity of their activity, to use an internal assessment of flight crew instead — but that assessment still has to be valid, criteria-based, and able to stand up to an auditor. “Qualified” is not a box that can be ticked lightly.
This is precisely where we help. MyWingman provides a psychological assessment designed to support compliance with CAT.GEN.MPA.175, delivered by an EAAP-accredited Aviation Psychologist and built on the ADAPT platform — one of the most widely used assessment systems in pilot selection. You receive documentation suitable for your compliance processes and, where you need it, support to design the wider screening and recruitment programme around it.
For pilots: what this means for you
If you are about to sit a psychological assessment as part of joining an airline, this is not something to fear, and it is not a trap. It is a structured conversation and a set of well-validated exercises that look at how you think, decide, communicate, and work with others. It is not a clinical examination, and it is rarely a blunt pass-or-fail. The best preparation is simple: be well rested, find a quiet space, and answer honestly. The process is designed to understand the real you — trying to game it tends to work against you, not for you.
Getting it right
CAT.GEN.MPA.175 exists because the aviation system decided, after a tragedy, that the psychological fitness of the people in the flight deck was too important to leave to chance. Treating it as a genuine part of safety — rather than a form to file — is what turns a regulatory requirement into something that actually protects people.
Requirements can vary in their detail between national competent authorities, so operators should always confirm the specifics that apply to them. If you would like help interpreting what CAT.GEN.MPA.175 means for your organisation, or you are ready to put a compliant, credible assessment process in place, contact our team and we will be glad to discuss your requirements.
This article is intended as general guidance on the regulation and does not constitute legal advice.