Jesus. It looks like one of the pilots locked the other out and then deliberately crashed the plane. Terrorism? Suicide? What on earth could have made him do that?! Shocking beyond words.
A pilot should be able to get in, using a code/card whatever. Not just relying on someone to open the door...
Is this a fact or your own opinion? My understanding was that there should be no way of opening the door from the outside, because that could lead to a situation where terrorists could torture a member of the flight crew in order to gain access. Not saying I'm right though.
They could do exactly the same thing and kill passengers to force the pilots to open it from the inside.
As you said earlier, its because of that sort of vermin that these measures have had to be put in place, which is such a sad situation.
This is starting to sound like a real horror story. Awful.
In ensuring the plane cannot be a weapon to those on the ground ala 9/11, the death of passengers is probably going to result in less overall loss of life than a well-executed terrorist event. Working out the probablities, and what would be the best outcome of situation, shouldn't hide from how tragic this event, and those like it are. Thoughts should be with all concerned, and lets not forget the family of the co-pilot. If what has occurred is where the evidence is suggesting, then the burden on them will be immense. I hope in the days of internet sniping they are allowed some privacy. Given how these details have leaked, I'm not sure that's likely (and as I write this he has been named....). Suicides are obviously very complicated, and I've seen first hand just how quickly and unpredictable psychosis type behaviour can be triggered. Such a shame.
Without any clear motive this seems even more horrific and senseless. I know Germanwings pilots have been very unhappy about their working conditions but I'd be extremely surprised if the co-pilot went rogue because of ongoing industrial action.
perhaps the pilot just lost his mind. Very young, only 28. I would hope that is the case rather than it be a bigger terrorist attack or any other motives. Terrible.
so in future, all control of an aeroplane must be at the request of two people ? a bit like the launching of nuclear weapons .. see my post above for a Washington Post analysis of pilot suicide .. locking the other pilot out of the cabin has been done before .. this is a VERY disturbing incident following on from the Malaysia Airlines loss, another suspected pilot suicide
So indirectly another 150 people have died because of security measures taken to keep terrorists out of the cockpit. At least the Captain and cabin crew would of had a fighting chance to overpower the co-pilot if they had access.
The terrible irony of this event is shocking.
The utter terror of the passengers at the front of the plane who saw the Captain bashing on the cockpit door are what Nightmares are made of, but this was their reality in the last minute of their lives.
if it was a suicide, that's a terrible thing to drag 150 people along with him, including schoolchildren. I don't want to say too much as there's nothing proven yet, but this is just senseless murder.
So indirectly another 150 people have died because of security measures taken to keep terrorists out of the cockpit. At least the Captain and cabin crew would of had a fighting chance to overpower the co-pilot if they had access.
The terrible irony of this event is shocking.
The utter terror of the passengers at the front of the plane who saw the Captain bashing on the cockpit door are what Nightmares are made of, but this was their reality in the last minute of their lives.
I do agree but there is a dilemma in that in the modern age we unfortunately need to block access to the cockpit by terrorists yet it could potentially lead to something like this.
An official from Lufthansa Airlines - the parent company of Germanwings - has said they are absolutely speechless and deeply shocked by the findings of the French prosecutors.
Not in our worst nightmare could we imagine something like this happening.
– Lufthansa
He said the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, took a long break in his training, but was declared fit to fly.
He said pilots undergo a number of psychological and medical checks when training ends, though the medical checks are not psychological when the pilot is working. He said the event, where it appears the co-pilot deliberately downed the plane killing everyone on board, is the worst possible scenario they could imagine.
I suppose the question is whether there is a connection between the reason he took a long break and being declared to fly.
I have great faith in the safety of aircraft, and believe most crashes are down to pilot error or intervention. This in a way should be reassuring to people. However, the problem is, with all the safety systems, what can you do to mitigate this sort of eventuality? Unfortunately, the answer is probably nothing. Yes, they can run psychiatric tests for pilots, but it won’t pick everybody up if anybody I would guess. If one of a two man crew is intent on doing this, they are going to be virtually impossible to stop as the opportunity will present itself at some point. Fortunately, most people looking to kill themselves won’t wish to take a plane full of innocent people with them. This should make this a relatively rare occurance.
Shows what I know - in my post yesterday, I would never have seriously countenanced a deliberate act.
This could well be a game-changer on aviation security. 3 pilots are the norm on long-haul flights, but that may now have to change on short-haul where 2 is usual. Airlines will resist, passenger confidence will plummet in the short-term, fares will rise due to additional crew costs and reduction in passenger yield etc, etc...
Toilets in cockpits might be logistically difficult/expensive. Cheapest alternative might be compulsory air marshals guarding cockpit if pilot has to leave, though that then raises other issues. Whichever way it goes, it will be interesting to see what comes of this tragedy.
if it was a suicide, that's a terrible thing to drag 150 people along with him, including schoolchildren. I don't want to say too much as there's nothing proven yet, but this is just senseless murder.
Unfortunately it should be regarded as mass-murder as opposed to suicide.
Unbelievable story that I dare say there will be a few more revelations.
RIP to those killed. All those kids on a school trip :-(
Why oh why go they not have automatic locking systems on the cock pit door which BOTH PILOTS have the access code for? Surely this would have stopped this tragic event from happening. RIP to all the innocents.
Absolute arsehole if you wanna kill yourself then do it alone and don't involve a load of innocent people going about their business, you will always be remembered as a murdering selfish ####
This is an utterly awful episode and the darkest, bleakest event imaginable. It seems like - right now - there is a single perpetrator of an act of staggering cruelty. Yet, I am going to hold fire until more facts come to light - and I am sure they will.
For now, my thoughts are with one hundred and fifty families who have just plunged into a horrible chapter of their lives; whose every thought from now on will be on the events that took place in the last few minutes of that flight; and who are on a decades-long road to recovery. I hope each of them gets the support, help and, most of all, respect to begin their healing.
IF WHAT HAS BEEN REPORTED TODAY IS THE WHOLE STORY
In one sense I feel pity for the pilot that felt they were in such a position they felt they had no other choice in live but to kill themselves, once again if its the case depression has shown how nasty it can be.
On the other sense I just dont understand why he did it with so many people on board, I work with someone who's partner is a pilot and he regularly flies an empty plane from hub to hub, he had every opportunity to take himself out where he would have been alone on a plane yet didnt take it
Shows what I know - in my post yesterday, I would never have seriously countenanced a deliberate act.
This could well be a game-changer on aviation security. 3 pilots are the norm on long-haul flights, but that may now have to change on short-haul where 2 is usual. Airlines will resist, passenger confidence will plummet in the short-term, fares will rise due to additional crew costs and reduction in passenger yield etc, etc...
Toilets in cockpits might be logistically difficult/expensive. Cheapest alternative might be compulsory air marshals guarding cockpit if pilot has to leave, though that then raises other issues. Whichever way it goes, it will be interesting to see what comes of this tragedy.
easyJet have announced that, from tomorrow, they will change procedures to ensure there will always be two pilots on the flight deck.
This is an utterly awful episode and the darkest, bleakest event imaginable. It seems like - right now - there is a single perpetrator of an act of staggering cruelty. Yet, I am going to hold fire until more facts come to light - and I am sure they will.
For now, my thoughts are with one hundred and fifty families who have just plunged into a horrible chapter of their lives; whose every thought from now on will be on the events that took place in the last few minutes of that flight; and who are on a decades-long road to recovery. I hope each of them gets the support, help and, most of all, respect to begin their healing.
Very well said @Chizz - a thoughtful and thought provoking comment.
This is a terrible event. I simply can't believe any man can justify to himself that bringing down a plane is the thing to do.
I am finding it a bit annoying how some people are whining on twitter that the media are not calling this a terrorist attack. By all accounts this bloke did not believe in sky fairies and had no political motives so it simply isn't the same thing.
Just see on the news that Lubitz perents were on one of the first relatives coaches to visit village, before the black box voice recorder findings were released. They've now been seperated from the rest of the relatives...
Comments
Still turned out to be a human error though.
The terrible irony of this event is shocking.
The utter terror of the passengers at the front of the plane who saw the Captain bashing on the cockpit door are what Nightmares are made of, but this was their reality in the last minute of their lives.
Not in our worst nightmare could we imagine something like this happening.
– Lufthansa
He said the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, took a long break in his training, but was declared fit to fly.
He said pilots undergo a number of psychological and medical checks when training ends, though the medical checks are not psychological when the pilot is working. He said the event, where it appears the co-pilot deliberately downed the plane killing everyone on board, is the worst possible scenario they could imagine.
I suppose the question is whether there is a connection between the reason he took a long break and being declared to fly.
http://www.airdisaster.com/investigations/af296/af296.shtml
This could well be a game-changer on aviation security. 3 pilots are the norm on long-haul flights, but that may now have to change on short-haul where 2 is usual. Airlines will resist, passenger confidence will plummet in the short-term, fares will rise due to additional crew costs and reduction in passenger yield etc, etc...
Toilets in cockpits might be logistically difficult/expensive. Cheapest alternative might be compulsory air marshals guarding cockpit if pilot has to leave, though that then raises other issues. Whichever way it goes, it will be interesting to see what comes of this tragedy.
Unbelievable story that I dare say there will be a few more revelations.
RIP to those killed. All those kids on a school trip :-(
That's not just suicide it's mass murder of men, women and children
For now, my thoughts are with one hundred and fifty families who have just plunged into a horrible chapter of their lives; whose every thought from now on will be on the events that took place in the last few minutes of that flight; and who are on a decades-long road to recovery. I hope each of them gets the support, help and, most of all, respect to begin their healing.
In one sense I feel pity for the pilot that felt they were in such a position they felt they had no other choice in live but to kill themselves, once again if its the case depression has shown how nasty it can be.
On the other sense I just dont understand why he did it with so many people on board, I work with someone who's partner is a pilot and he regularly flies an empty plane from hub to hub, he had every opportunity to take himself out where he would have been alone on a plane yet didnt take it
I am finding it a bit annoying how some people are whining on twitter that the media are not calling this a terrorist attack. By all accounts this bloke did not believe in sky fairies and had no political motives so it simply isn't the same thing.
RIP the 149