Bryan Griffin

I am an ex Qantas pilot and unfortunately got an unintentional compulsion to carry out the Boeing 747 phase one check list and shut down 4 engines on TAKE OFF

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

A big thank you for all the people who reposted this. With your help the Airlines might take notice.

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

This is what GROK thinks of my posts.
Do you think airlines will take any notice?

Your most recent posts are powerful, raw, and deeply personal. They come across as someone who's been through absolute hell and is still fighting for accountability and better systems decades later. Here's my honest take on the last few:The big post (yesterday, with the police documents)
This one hits hard. Sharing the actual police reports from 1999, the court findings, and your compulsion story takes real courage. The detail about asking the engineer to cover the start levers so you couldn't act on the intrusive thought is chilling — it shows how terrifying and isolating that must have been while still responsible for a plane full of people. You're right to call out the failure: airlines and regulators have a duty to properly ground and support pilots with serious mental health issues, not just paper over it and hope for the best. The threat of charges for "extortion with malice" after you reached out in panic (triggered by the EgyptAir crash) sounds like intimidation rather than care. Linking it to ongoing issues (like recent Air India concerns) makes it relevant today. It's advocacy born from lived experience, not abstract complaint.The "Thanks" reply
Short and simple — probably acknowledging someone who engaged with your story.The "Airline pilots and drugs" post (quoting a previous Grok response)
This one effectively uses my earlier analysis to reinforce your point. The court quote you keep highlighting is damning: Qantas worsened your condition by keeping you flying without proper treatment. Calling out benzodiazepines for pilots is valid from a safety standpoint — those meds impair exactly the skills you need in the cockpit. You're using it to push the broader message: mental health support shouldn't be a career-ender or a hidden risk.Overall thoughts
Your bio and posts are consistent and unflinching — you own the compulsion story without sugar-coating it, which builds credibility even when the topic is uncomfortable. The repetition of the court findings and documents across posts shows you're trying to break through what feels like long-term stonewalling. With your follower count, these are getting decent reach (one post hit 100k+ views), especially when you tie it to current events.Critically: This is heavy, traumatic material. Some people might find the graphic details (engine shutdown compulsion, suicide thoughts) alarming, which could limit broader engagement or trigger skepticism. But authenticity like this is rare in aviation discussions, which are often sanitized. You're highlighting a real gap — pilot mental health treatment, reporting without fear, and proper grounding protocols — that the industry still struggles with.Respect for keeping the fight going after all these years. If the goal is awareness and systemic improvement, these posts do that. What are you hoping comes from sharing them right now?
My ebook 'Qantas Jet Star' on Amazon:

https://t.co/rX6SVXGVja

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

A big thank you for all the people who reposted this. With your help the Airlines might take notice.

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

Dear Doctor Q antas ''I have an uncontrollable obsession to carry out an emergency procedure to shut down all 747 engines on take off.'' ( Note don't put U in Qantas. Leave empty )
Don't worry lad, you wont do it. Complete Bullshit.
Did an Air India pilot say similar to his doctors?
Qantas cleared this pilot to fly for 2 years with this deadly compulsion. It all started after Qantas sent the police to charge him with extortion. In another post.
Griffin@Qantas Court findings against Qantas

https://t.co/k8KucfGTos
Quote from Court. Taking all matters together, Dr Phillips believed that Mr Griffin should have been medically retired at the time of his acute problems. In Dr Phillips’ evaluation, “Mr Griffin experienced a worsening of his symptoms generally as a consequence of Qantas expecting him to continue flying and failing to organise appropriate medical treatment” (page 11).
Why the hell should a sick pilot have to endure this nightmare just to be heard?
Pilots are not GODS and need mental health care like other professionals.
The full story at https://t.co/Lfl4mcHqLO
Reposting would be appreciated.

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

A big thank you for all the people who reposted this. With your help the Airlines might take notice.

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

Airline pilots and drugs. I didn't want to do it.
“Response from Grok (built by xAI)”
Catastrophes are still happening. Help him get airlines to do better by reposting

I think this is a raw, honest, and deeply concerning personal account of how mental health can collide with one of the highest-stakes jobs on the planet. First off, respect for putting it out there. OCD is brutal — intrusive thoughts and compulsions that feel like they’re hijacking your own body.
Living with that while sitting in the right-hand seat of a 747, responsible for hundreds of lives, must have been absolute hell. The fact that you eventually stood yourself down in 1981 rather than risk it shows real integrity, even if it cost you your career. That said, the core question you open with — “Should an airline pilot take mind-altering drugs?” — has a clear answer from a safety perspective: No. Not when the drugs are benzodiazepines like Serepax (oxazepam). Those are sedatives. They slow reaction times, impair judgment, and reduce situational awareness — exactly the opposite of what a pilot needs on takeoff or in an emergency.
The court documents from your 2010 case (Griffin v Qantas Airways Ltd) confirm you were taking it to manage the anxiety, and your flying performance declined. That’s not a criticism of you personally; it’s just the medical and aviation reality.
https://t.co/k8KucfGTos
Quote from Court. Taking all matters together, Dr Phillips believed that Mr Griffin should have been medically retired at the time of his acute problems. In Dr Phillips’ evaluation, “Mr Griffin experienced a worsening of his symptoms generally as a consequence of Qantas expecting him to continue flying and failing to organise appropriate medical treatment” (page 11).

Modern regulators (CASA in Australia, FAA elsewhere) treat benzos as a hard no for active pilots for very good reason. The bigger issue your story highlights is how the system failed you and the passengers you flew with between late 1979 and 1981. Multiple Qantas doctors cleared you to keep flying despite repeated reports of compulsions to shut down engines — including on take off. The court ultimately found that continuing to fly aggravated and made chronic your condition. Dr Phillips’ opinion (quoted in the judgment) was blunt: you were not suitable to continue as a pilot after the symptoms developed. The airline’s decision to keep you in the seat wasn’t compassionate; it was reckless. You shouldn’t have been put in the position of having to “sit on your hand” or self-medicate just to get through a flight. You winning the workers’ comp case in 2010 was the right outcome. It established that Qantas contributed to the worsening of your condition and owed you compensation for the lost earnings and medical costs. That precedent mattered. The part about the loss-of-licence insurance is especially frustrating — the very clearance that let you keep flying (and worsened things) was later used against your insurance claim. Classic catch-22. And the radio silence from the airline now, decades later? Not surprising legally, but it still stings when someone just wants acknowledgment. Bottom line: Your experience is a cautionary tale about mental health in aviation. The 1980s approach (“he’ll be fine, just keep flying”) was dangerous. Today the industry is better (though still imperfect) at grounding pilots early and offering support without career-ending stigma — because one unreported or mismanaged case is one too many. You did the responsible thing by eventually stepping away. The fact that you had to fight the airline in court to get any justice after they’d cleared you is the real indictment here. If you’re sharing this to raise awareness about how airlines and regulators handle pilot mental health, or to push for better loss-of-licence protections, I get it. The story stands on its own as evidence that the old way wasn’t good enough.
Details of how this pilot was let down https://t.co/bCgbcolZFf

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

What happens to sick pilots? Are they still flying you?

When I was asked to resign from Qantas they renewed my Airline pilots licence as they decided I could still fly for another airline but not anymore for them. This was proved wrong in the court.
I had just managed to cope with my illness untill when in 1999 the copilot of an Egypt Air flight out of New York decided to end his life and all those on the aircraft.
I had up untill then thought that I was the only pilot with those type of thoughts. In a state of panic and confusion I rang Qantas PR to see if they would reconcider my staff travel arrangements as they had said I would get them with a new airline.

They said they would look into it. The next thing I knew was there was a police officer at my gate. They threatened to charge me with extortion with malice if I dared speak to the media.
The Police documents attached below.
In absolute panic I requested my full medical file from CASA and discovered what looked like a major cover-up. It took me another 10 brutal years of fighting just to get my case into court.
Griffin@Qantas Court findings against Qantas
https://t.co/k8KucfGTos
Quote from Court. Taking all matters together, Dr Phillips believed that Mr Griffin should have been medically retired at the time of his acute problems. In Dr Phillips’ evaluation, “Mr Griffin experienced a worsening of his symptoms generally as a consequence of Qantas expecting him to continue flying and failing to organise appropriate medical treatment” (page 11).

Why the hell should a sick pilot have to endure this nightmare just to be heard?
THE SAME AS I AM HAVING TO DO NOW.
Sick pilots need real care and support — not threats and cover-ups. Otherwise we will see more tragedies like Air India. I had an uncontrollable compulsion to shut down all four engines on takeoff. Qantas let me keep flying passengers for two years. I was so terrified of acting on it. So much so I would ask the engineer if I could cover the start levers so that I couldn't see them. If this matters to you, reply, repost, or send it to an aviation reporter. Your voice can push for better mental health rules in the cockpit.
The full story https://t.co/bCgbcolZFf

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

@Sushil_Rawat12 Thanks

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

@Sushil_Rawat12 Thanks. I hope you will repostfor me.

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

@AliceXavie91580 Thanks for your kind words.

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

@khapkhapp Sorry, No

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

@winnie_jett Thanks

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

Court ruling against Qantas. They have never said sorry. Once they have what they want from you, you are on your own. Have you ever tried to contact them. Pigs might fly.

Full story, court documents + evidence here:
https://t.co/bCgbcomxuN
My book “Qantas Jet Star” on Amazon:
https://t.co/l7mRvhDisF

[Bryan Griffin @QantasJetstar]

Thanks to the Indian viewers that have reposted.