No idea Another Selfish Suicide? (Germanwings Crash)

[leggy]

So this came out today:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32062278

The Pilot was allegedly locked out of the cockpit and made a desperate attempt to get back in.. while the plane was nosediving into a mountain. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for the passengers watching all this happen.

Suicide is a documented cause of air traffic disasters but it doesn't ease the shock much (if it was indeed suicide and not some act of 'terrorism' on behalf of the co-pilot). I'm sure these pilots go through regular psych evaluations but I might be wrong. Does anyone know otherwise?

 

[BloodOmen]

Aye I read it and thought... really? I genuinely hope it was a malfunction and not just some selfish cunt who hates his life having a last 'fuck you' at life. Start rolling out those psych evaluations on pilots I reckon!

 

[Gwadien]

First thing that came to my head was a heart attack or something to be honest.

 

[Gwadien]

Ah, aparrently @old.Tohtori, @Hawkwind was saying that the doors have to be locked on the inside, its not an automatic lock.

 

[caLLous]

(excuse the atrocious acting performances)

Pilot sabotage a plausible explanation for Germanwings crash

“We also know there was no mayday call made from the aircraft, which could be explained by this scenario which suggests a deliberate act by one of the pilots.”

He said the cockpit of an A320 was designed so that only a conscious person inside could keep others locked out.

“If the pilot is unconscious, an emergency code can be used by flight crew to access the cockpit,” Mr Bartsch said.

“If the pilot wants to keep the cockpit door locked, he or she can override this code, but they have to be awake in order to do that.”

 

[BloodOmen]

Pilot sabotage a plausible explanation for Germanwings crash

"He said the cockpit of an A320 was designed so that only a conscious person inside could keep others locked out.

If the pilot is unconscious, an emergency code can be used by flight crew to access the cockpit,” Mr Bartsch said."

Suicide then, what a crying shame.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Yeap well that explains that then. Unless there's a mechanical failure in the door itself.

Intentional act sounds more plausible now though.

 

[Gwadien]

I'd call it terrorism.

If you're intentionally going to kill masses of people like that then you're going to cause panic and mistrust of pilots.

What a cunt.

 

[Gwadien]

Yeap well that explains that then. Unless there's a mechanical failure in the door itself.

Intentional act sounds more plausible now though.

Pilot goes unconscious AND door malfunctions?

Nah.

 

[caLLous]

From what that investigator said (probably to the fury of his colleagues and higher-ups), whoever was in the cockpit was either not in a fit state to respond or deliberately not responding.

“The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door, and there is no answer,” the investigator said. “And then he hits the door stronger, and no answer. There is never an answer.”

He said, “You can hear he is trying to smash the door down.”

 

[Hawkwind]

Aye I read it and thought... really? I genuinely hope it was a malfunction and not just some selfish cunt who hates his life having a last 'fuck you' at life. Start rolling out those psych evaluations on pilots I reckon!

http://www.airspacemag.com/need-to-...ts-tested-for-mental-health-167046164/?no-ist

Not mandatory but some airlines do them. Again company policy rather than regulated

 

[old.user4556]

Confirmed, deliberately crashed.

 

[Poag]

Confirmed, deliberately crashed.

Where?

 

[old.user4556]

Several media outlets. He's also been named.

 

[Fweddy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32063587 for one.

 

[BloodOmen]

Confirmed, deliberately crashed.

Utterly selfish bastard then, if there is a hell I hope the fuck is rotting in it.

 

[Shagrat]

Christ, those 8 minutes must have been terrifying for everyone on board. What an incredibly evil thing to do.

 

[Hawkwind]

Absolutely shocking, very surprised also at the French authorities getting this information out there before the investigation is fully over. Very odd! RIP the 149 souls and for the man responsible I really hope there is a hell for him to burn in for an eternity.

 

[Tom]

What I'd like to know is, why wasn't a steward present in the cockpit while the captain was absent?

 

[caLLous]

Absolutely shocking, very surprised also at the French authorities getting this information out there before the investigation is fully over. Very odd! RIP the 149 souls and for the man responsible I really hope there is a hell for him to burn in for an eternity.

I guess they thought they should get something concrete out asap after that leak last night. They seem to think they can say with certainty that a) the copilot voluntarily locked the door and b) he didn't respond to the pilot's requests to open the door and c) he started the descent and d) he was conscious and breathing until right before impact. There's only so many conclusions that can be taken from all of those facts.

 

[caLLous]

What I'd like to know is, why wasn't a steward present in the cockpit while the captain was absent?

That's a US law, the airline have already said they were complying with German aviation laws. I expect German and European aviation laws will tighten up PDQ after this.

 

[Moriath]

Absolutely shocking, very surprised also at the French authorities getting this information out there before the investigation is fully over. Very odd! RIP the 149 souls and for the man responsible I really hope there is a hell for him to burn in for an eternity.

It was 150 plus 6 crew.

 

[Moriath]

What I'd like to know is, why wasn't a steward present in the cockpit while the captain was absent?

Cause it's not required.

 

[Moriath]

I guess they thought they should get something concrete out asap after that leak last night. They seem to think they can say with certainty that a) the copilot voluntarily locked the door and b) he didn't respond to the pilot's requests to open the door and c) he started the descent and d) he was conscious and breathing until right before impact. There's only so many conclusions that can be taken from all of those facts.

And there was no mayday call

 

[Hawkwind]

It was 150 plus 6 crew.

Apologies read that it was 144 + 6 crew elsewhere, was just excluding the prick who did it from those numbers

 

[Hawkwind]

That's a US law, the airline have already said they were complying with German aviation laws. I expect German and European aviation laws will tighten up PDQ after this.

Its also a US federal (FAA) law that requires bullet proof doors that cannot be broken into. Big questions will now be asked if they are still required given the security we have at airports etc.

 

[sayward]

Watched the press conference at lunch. Gruelling. Murdering Bastard. Sick Sick Sick.

I think the French prosecutor got the details out because he knew the Germans wouldn't. The German CEO kept referring to what the French had concluded. I think he would rather that it hadn't been made public so quickly.

 

[caLLous]

As soon as you start talking about the possibilities of a good guy needing to break into a cockpit it surely compromises all of the efforts that have gone before to keep bad guys out. Any method that they put in place to allow somebody to override the other security stuff is open to abuse.

 

[sayward]

The prosecutor said they could hear the co pilot breathing heavily so he wasn't dead but he made no reply.

They could only hear passengers screaming at the very last minute so maybe they hadn't realised.

Surely if you were sitting further back you wouldn't necessarily notice.

 

[Tom]

That's a US law, the airline have already said they were complying with German aviation laws. I expect German and European aviation laws will tighten up PDQ after this.

One would hope so. It seems very silly to me to have a situation where one man can assume total control of an aircraft and that nobody can stop him. At least if there's a steward in there, you have an immediate disincentive to do anything like what appears to have happened here.