The concern about assistance to flight crews in case of accident was raised by flight crews, back in late 2001, when "secure" cockpit doors became mandated by regulations. At the time I was flying 747-200s, which have a escape hatch on top of the cockpit ceiling, which can be opened from the outside, so it was less of a concern for that type of aircraft. These airplanes got the "secure" cockpit door retrofit.
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Eventually, our 747-200s got replaced by 747-400s (which I did not fly) so our 200 types were merely "reserve" or "charter" airplanes. Eventually the last 200 got retired, and I retired myself.
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With the 200s, we probably hardly ever locked the cockpit door. First of all, on the upper deck, we only had 16 seats, and most often was used by the CC as their "private quarters" to puff a cigarette or take a break. The only time we had passengers there were some selected VVIPs, or if we had a full cabin, which was extremely rare. Access to the upper deck airstairs was "off limits" from regular passengers anyway.
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Now, pilots are all "safe" from Osama buddies, but condemned to be victims in case of accidents. Who knows, maybe these THY pilots were still alive after the impact. Cockpit door jammed, sliding cockpit windows jammed, all that does not surprise me the least. After all, we pilots are generally "first to arrive on the site of the crash". Sad fact.
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Among our company procedures (evacuation), our CC are specifically instructed, after initiating passenger evacuation, to assist the flight crew, if they do not appear safely out of the cockpit door.
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If I was still active in the airline industry, I would impress on having flight crews opening the cockpit door as item on the "LANDING CHECK". Fact is, terrorists always attacked airplane crews quite early on the flight, with their demands for other destinations, knowing that tanks are full. An airplane left with 45 minutes of fuel, is of no interest to them. An open door would present a problem for takeoff, but much less at time of landing.
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I am aware that Turkey has problems with their Kurd minorities, but I am certain that their airports security is outstanding. Sorry to displease our friend Rainboe with my own condolences for the THY crews and victims. I flew a brief B-720 ACMI contract based in Erçan (KTHY - Kibris Türk Hava Yollari) in 1978 and always respected the professionalism of the Turkish pilots and staff that I met during that period of time.
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Happy contrails, if I may say as usual.