flight 9525 crash over the french alps

Not the first time this has happened. At least three passenger jets have had suicide as their assumed reason for crashing over the last twenty years, iirc.

I'm not sure if this is more or less terrifying than the idea that a plane could just malfunction in mid-air and go down.

yes as is well known but in terms of what gave him that idea now

i was thinking it must have happened before - all that control in one person's hands with however many flights each day.

flying today - woohoo.

the questions hacks asks....

“Death was sudden and immediate,” says Robin.

"He is not known as a terrorist, absolutely not.”

Was going to ask if there had been many instances of this in the past, but apparently so. I mean suicide by the pilot as opposed to the terrorism bollocks. No proof yet that the Malaysian pilot last year did the same.

Presumably the very security systems that for obvious reasons make it extremely difficult to break into a cockpit also doomed this particular plane.

yeah

seems to be the case. there is an access keypad on the outside of the door but that can be overridden by the cockpit

From what I've been reading elsewhere, you can generally override the lock from outside, for example if your co-pilot had a heart attack while you were in the loo, but there's an override to the override which the guy in the cockpit can set which is meant to stop terrorists using the override, but obv you can lock your co-pilot out with it if you're an evil suicidal bastard as well.

Suspect there'll be a revision to lone cockpit policy shortly (some airline have this already), though I guess if you're an evil suicidal bastard you can take out your accompanying cabin crew member hanging around in case you go nuts and lock your co-pilot out.

xposts obviously

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EgyptAir_Flight_990

Suspect there'll be a revision to lone cockpit policy shortly (some airline have this already), though I guess if you're an evil suicidal bastard you can take out your accompanying cabin crew member hanging around in case you go nuts and lock your co-pilot out.

I am not 100% sure about this but I *think* that on US flights if one pilot goes to the bathroom, a flight attendant goes into the cockpit with the other pilot until the other one comes back. I flew earlier this week and saw the pilot/FA do this.

oh meant to quote Alisa there.

Yeah, I think they have it in place in the US, but not in Europe.

guessing that being a pilot is one of those jobs where if you do have mental health problems, it might seem difficult to seek help without endangering your career

This is one of a couple of recent news stories where I have to actively stop myself from thinking about it in order to be able to go about my day in a normal manner. Angry at myself now for opening this thread. That description from the investigator makes me feel like throwing up.

His Facebook page lists his interests, including German electronica band Schiller, French superstar DJ David Guetta, his local Burger King, 10-pin bowling, aviation humour and a technical website about the A320 model of aircraft he flew into a mountainside.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/03/germanwings-crash-murder-suicide-pilot/388778/

Also http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAM_470 and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SilkAir_Flight_185

I read the recent findings aloud to workmates y'day (pilot locked out, sounds of furious knocking, controlled descent etc). Workmate immediately says "yeah, now lets watch what his name ends up being eh!"

FU, racist workmate, you were wrong.

18m ago 12:10

My colleague Ben Knight in Germany has translated the main points of the statement from the German Prosecutors office. It reads:

Düsseldorf prosecutors’ press release on search of house:

The measures have not led to the discovery of a so-called suicide note or a confession. There are also no indications of a political or religious background to the incident.

But medical documents were found that indicate an ongoing illness and suitable medical treatment. Torn-up current medical certificates - also pertaining to the day of the act - were found, supporting, after preliminary examination, the assumption that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and his professional circles. Investigations as well as the assessment of the medical treatment documents will take some days. As soon as reliable findings emerge, we will inform relatives and the public.

on a different note i'm wondering if flightdeck cctv and remote control over basic cabin operations is feasible and likely to happen at some stage

why would he go to the trouble of getting a sick note and then tear it up
idgi

Sick notes get issued by German doctors -- he went to the doctor for, say, a prescription renewal, and the doctor wrote him sick without his asking. It happens.

Before training as a pilot, Lubitz worked part-time at Burger King where his manager described him as "dependable and inconspicuous."[9]

There was speculation yesterday that he may have been gay and felt forced to keep it secret, after it emerged that a male friend had sent a message to Lubitz’s personal website after the crash. It read: “We were only talking yesterday about what we would do together when you came back. You always made me smile.”

It was suggested to The Independent that “Tomato Andi” was a joke gay term used to describe someone who repressed their homosexuality, a tomato being commonly referred to as a vegetable despite being a fruit.

joke gay term

There are signs too of a sense of humour. Lubitz favourites a website called “When Men Are Alone” or “Wenn Männer Allein Sind”. It isn’t a forum for singles but a light-hearted platform where men can post daft videos of themselves mucking about with chainsaws, or looking after babies badly.

Ex gf interview all over Bild