Germanwings A320 crashes in the Alps

[airboatr]

I read the report late last night.. as my eyes fell on the headlines, I felt my heart drop in my chest.

Nearly emotionless, Just

I mean, the sadness that overwhelms me for those lost leaves no room for anger.

............

Why is it cancer befalls good men like our Ian and not the heartless man.

[511Flyer]

The latest news is beyond belief. The Captain was locked out of the cockpit after using the toilet, and the 1st Officer deliberately crashed the aircraft!

[cstorey]

I have seen the statement put out by the Public Prosecutor ( quite what business he has to be making a statement on something which is the province of the Bureau d'Enquete I don't know ) and like so many of these affairs where some very minor public official jumps the gun to have his few minutes of fame , what he said did not add up to a deliberate crashing of the aeroplane at all. The fact that the FO was "breathing" does not mean that he was not incapacitated, and frankly if someone wanted to commit suicide by crashing the aeroplane they are unlikely in my view to take 8 minutes to do it by putting it into a relatively gentle dive . It all illustrates the tragic folly of the locked door idea

[petermcleland]

The latest news is beyond belief. The Captain was locked out of the cockpit after using the toilet, and the 1st Officer deliberately crashed the aircraft!

I don't think that is quite correct...The voice recorder revealed them both talking to each other in German...Then one of them went out of the cockpit (They don't know which) and then knocking was heard on the door as he wanted to get back in followed by loud battering as he tried to break down the door. Then an alarm GPWS...Then the crash.

Your hypothesis is the "elephant in the room"...It could also be a terrorist who seeing a pilot come out and go to the loo, nipped into the cockpit and disabled the other pilot and crashed the aeroplane.

[DaveB]

I don't think Dennis was hypothesising Peter. His comment is the sequence of events as reported by the Public Prosecutor (mentioned by Chris above). How accurate the Prosecutors statement turns out to be will doubtless be known in the fullness of time but this is what he's said. I saw the same statement online.. perhaps from CNN.

ATB
DaveB

[Dev One]

What I find interesting is the other topic raised about cameras in cockpits.......Not only that but the priority system employed between the two joysticks...now thats harking back to the Air France crash....I wonder if there have been any software updates there?
Keith

[Swanoir]

These are troubling times indeed for those of us who prefer rational, logical explanations to tragic events.
The outcome is that 150 people lost their lives.
If there had been some identifiable mechanical failure, disturbing though that may be, we could have reflected, contemplated and ultimately understood the chain of events.
Unfortunately we have been left with the opposite, the human element.
Ironically, we often prove to be the hardest to fathom, no borescope can spot our micro-fractures before they expand into fatal cracks.
When a disaster of any kind happens we ask 'What can be learnt from this?' and in a small way, we derive comfort from finding the answer.
Already we have airlines such as easyjet proclaiming that from tomorrow their policy will be '2 crew on the flight deck at all times.'
How about the fedex DC-10 where there were 3 on the flight deck when the disgruntled employee tried to kill the pilots with a spear-gun (and very nearly succeeded in downing the aircraft)?
My passion for aviation remains undiminished. I'm flying to Alicante next week with my family and have not a jot of worry.
My facebook is alight with 'I'm never flying again' etc.#
What knee-jerk, media-led, witch-hunt, flaming-torch, lynch-mob style draconian 'rules' are we going to have to face now?
I used to complain that flying had become like getting on a bus, compared to the special, privileged experience of long ago.
Who'd have thought I'd miss the mundane, tedium of just checking in, walking through security with my shoes on, and getting on an aircraft?
Dark times indeed...

[robbie]

The news from this side of the pond is:
quote: "All commercial flights in Canada must have two crew members in the cockpit at all times, Transport Canada announced Thursday afternoon."

I think it's a bit early to jump to conclusion..but....I suppose they need to appease the media!!

[511Flyer]

I was repeating what the Swiss Public Prosecutor said in his statement, as I saw it on the news. It was translated, so maybe the statement was translated incorrectly?

[cstorey]

You are rather maligning the Swiss ! He wasn't Swiss, he was French