The Federal Aviation Administration has formed an aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) to make recommendations within six months on pilot mental health and screening issues. The agency said it assembled the expert group as a result of the March 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and the crash this March of Germanwings Flight 9525.

“U.S. pilots undergo robust medical screening, but recent accidents in other parts of the world prompted the FAA to take a new look at the important issue of pilot fitness,” the agency announced on May 27. The high-level Commercial Aviation Safety Team, an industry and government collaboration founded in 1998, recommended forming the Pilot Fitness ARC.

ARCs are temporary advisory committees, but their recommendations are typically used by the FAA in crafting regulations. The Pilot Fitness ARC “will examine issues including the awareness and reporting of emotional and mental health issues, the methods used to evaluate pilot emotional and mental health, and barriers to reporting such issues,” the FAA said. The charter creating the ARC also establishes a working group of medical professionals that will report to the committee.

Based on the committee’s recommendations, the FAA said it might consider changing medical methods, aircraft design, policies and procedures, pilot training and testing, or training of aerospace medical examiners. It might also advise industry groups on taking action.

Malaysia Airlines MH370, a Boeing 777-200, disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The aircraft has still not been found. The copilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, an Airbus A320, is thought to have deliberately crashed the aircraft in the French Alps on March 24.

The FAA did not name the individuals who will serve on the Pilot Fitness ARC, but provided a list of the organizations that will be represented on the committee. These are the Aerospace Industries Association, Airlines for America, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, the Flight Safety Foundation, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the National Air Carrier Association and the Regional Airline Association. The FAA and Transport Canada will also participate. The ARC’s meetings will not be open to the public.

Responding to the FAA announcement, IATA issued the following statement: “Safety is the industry’s top priority. IATA is pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this important initiative on pilot fitness. Working together through collaborative processes based on global standards and best practices has been the industry’s model for decades and it has helped make aviation the safest form of long-distance travel the world has ever known.”