WASHINGTON The Federal Aviation Administration is naming a pilot mental health committee to provide recommendations to address barriers preventing pilots from reporting mental health issues.

The issue has taken on new urgency since an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot last month was charged with trying to disable the engines of a jet in flight and told police afterward he was suffering a nervous breakdown.

The FAA on Thursday said it would also work to address uncompleted recommendations from a July inspector general's office report on pilot mental health.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter)