I am currently supervising four teenage lads who want to become pilots. They are learning to fly gliders, just as young Andreas Lubitz began his training, ten years ago. So many young men - not so many young women - are drawn to the idea of flying. But not all will be suitable candidates.
Before encouraging any person to fly, he should visit the medic. A lot of conditions will rule out the career right at the start, and some of these are mental instability. Others are as incidental as colour blindness. And one unusual condition turned out to be absolutely lethal to his single passenger, a condition called ankylosing spondylitis, meaning he could not turn his head well enough to look out and so killed his single passenger in a midair collision.
There are many many youngsters, and some not so young, who would like to be commercial pilots. The supply of eager candidates is tremendous, many even being willing to pay for their training. And if they achieve this ambition, they are at the bottom of the stack, locked into the seniority system. Pay far from glamorous. Even the uniforms are tacky these days. Often far from home and family, relationships suffer. If you tell the truth to your AME, you can loose your job, so often problems will be hidden.
Clearly young Andreas had problems. Perhaps a domineering father. He doesn't look very happy in San Francisco. He may have resented being under the orders of his captains. He may have wanted to stage his resentment in so spectacular a fashion that his departure from the planet accompanied by 150 innocent victims will be long remembered.
The number one responsibility of any pilot carrying passengers is to keep them safe. The possibility of mental instability or even being unable to turn your head to look out properly, should be your transfer to a job where you will not put people's lives at risk. The reason pay for a pilot has become so very low is that too many people are eager to be pilots. Simple.
Meanwhile, yes, require more hours experience of the new first officers.
And nevermore only one person alone in the cockpit, please!
Last edited by mary meagher; 27th Mar 2015 at 08:15.