Duane, I guess that if we want to nitpick, we should then have to define "substantially" and what a "newer Airbus" is... That being said, according to one information I have found, Airbus says that the weight of composites on its main production airplanes is: "about 10% for A310s, A330s and A340s; about 20% for A320s; about 8% for A 380s" But even with 8%, as a part of the main wing box of the A380 is composites, I guess that would qualify for "substantial", because the part is structurally important. Rgds
From a news article: "Airlines in Europe are not required to have two people in the cockpit at all times, unlike the standard U.S. operating procedure after the 9/11 attacks changed to require a flight attendant to take the spot of a briefly departing pilot."
Not a 3 man crew but like someone mentioned a flight stewardess to temporary man the door until the pilot/copilot returns. Should never leave the cockpit with only 1 person.
Still, like with Egypt Air the 2nd pilot was overpowered. No real answer to this problem other than better background checks I guess or a 3 man/person crew.
But if the copilot intended to commit murder/suicide, how did he know the captain was going to leave the flight deck? On a flight that short, he very well might not have.
Indeed; perhaps he just seized the opportunity, and if that did not occur, he would have waited for another occasion? We will probably never know. I must say that, as a Frenchman, and being therefore used to having to wait for quite a long time when there is an official enquiry, I was very surprised at the press conference of the Assistant District Attorney being held only two days after the crash. Either they wanted to keep ahead of the rumor (the news about one pilot having being alone in the cockpit having been aired the night before already) or the data from the CVR is really so obvious that there doesn't seem to be any space for doubt. Lufthansa seems to have accepted it without any question. Rgds
I'm surprised at the pace and release of information as well. I agree, they must be trying very hard to stay ahead of the rumor-mill. I'd also bet that they will try to dissect the motive quickly, hoping there's no tie to organized terror groups, etc. There are lots of cold-blooded people in this world, not all are tied to that prophet named Mo. The reports I've read are chilling, with the CVR recording his "calm, normal breathing throughout." It seems certain he knew what he was doing, and really didn't want anyone to know until it was too late. That's just cold.
People are creatures of habit. The pilot may have had a ritual of hitting the head when cruising alt was reached. Or as nerofer said it may have been a plan for a bit and the pieces fell into place on this flight.
And it leaves a lot of questions unanswered, the biggest one is, of course: "why"? Surely should you decide to take your own life, there are other scenarios (scenari if we want to stay grammaticaly correct) possible? Why take 150 other lives with you as well, without even a statement of some sort? That's just terrible for his own kinfolks, they will feel terribly guilty in a way towards the families of the dead passengers? Weird.
My other half worked for some years in a mental hospital and one lesson learned was you may never understand the motivations or actions of a mentally disturbed person. It is not unlike trying to communicate verbally with no common language.
My wife asked how in the world a suicidal person could take so many innocent people with them. I believe the thinking is, " Other people? There are no other people. I am the only person and I do whatever I'm going to do because it is for me." So many mental circuits have been shorted and so many wires cross-connected there's no way to know what is going on. Does anyone remember "SECTION 8?"
Declaring cockpits a no-lone zone isn't a bad idea. We do that with other high-security facilities. This would require abandoning plans for single-pilot and remotely-piloted commercial aircraft, which I have no problem with at all.
It may actually help make a case for remotely controlled flights at some point in the distant future. They could control and supervise the flight operators better, but I too don't like the idea. God forbid someone was able to hack in and over ride the controls.
Listening to the evening news right now, the fact That the co-pilot crashed the plane seems accepted: Angela Merkel spoke of "a crime". Rgds
I was really 'hoping' (best word I could come up with) that the CP had a heart attack/stroke etc. The suicide angle is just horrific, evil and inexcusable. Intentionally taking down an aircraft goes against years of training and basic human survival. I wonder what the German authorities will dig up when they pick apart his life.
Depression is a real problem and can lead to suicide and most of the time untraceable if the "victim" chooses to hide it. At that point, common sense is thrown out the window. All you are thinking of is ending your life, you don't care how it will impact others.
The pilots must have skin in the game. Are remote operators willing to wear an apparatus that administers a lethal shock if the event of a broken radio link or other critical control failure? Of course not. Why then should passengers be expected to do, in effect, the same thing?
Have to do it like BART. Have an on board operator to act as stand by. Tell him not to touch anything and read a book until told otherwise and pray he follows directions.
This^ Excepting those in dire medical straights or those without ANYONE I see suicide as a supremely selfish and hostile act. No consideration for the others affected, a final FU to those around them or just the world in general. So terrible that this worthless individual has ended so many innocent lives and ruined countless others. Why couldn't he just go quietly into the woods and stick a gun in his mouth? I hope their is justice after this life.
There was a similar incident on the west coast some yrs ago when an employee, recently fired, managed to get on a flight with his boss and several airline employees. He managed to get a handgun on the flight and proceeded to kill his boss, the pilots and himself. The plane hit the ground at over 500 mph. The CVR was what solved the mystery based on hearing gunshots and finding the frame of the revolver. This incident prompted the FAA to make sure any terminated employee had to turn in their ids immediately to prevent anyone from skipping a security check.
The real blow is --- people have such a high regards of Pilots. Now... that's in question In Egypt air, you could say this was just a Egyptian crazy guy. In Silkair, you could say this was a guy killing himself and trying to hide that he did it because he was in financial trouble and wanted the insurance money for his family. In Malaysia air, we do not know but everyone suspects something happened in the cockpit and the pilot is a suspect. In this case, it really hits home -- maybe Pilots are just like the rest of us and not super heroes anymore. Maybe a Pilot can be so depressed he just wants to end it all in a big bang.
