Originally Posted by
Hunter58
For all the ones who propagate that the two personas at all time rule in the US has never brought any problems...
Sorry, flawed argument. Until the 10th of September 2001 one could have argued that noone has ever used a commercial aircraft as a weapon and that therefore it will never happen.
The rule in the US is there as otherwise the armoured and locked door is not cerifiable, exactly because a pilot left alone with psychological problems may take advantage of the situation....
Hunter, actually two-crew cockpit procedures come out of a need to 1. identify cockpit crew for re-entry and 2. operate the door. (see my post about 11 pages back
here and a more in-depth post regarding mental illness
here.)
Reason being for the procedure: not all aircraft were fitted with video surveillance equipment and magnetic door locks.
Regarding the idea of FA's suddenly becoming threats in cases of flight deck crew breaks is a little strange. These are the same crew that supply hot coffee and (sometimes) food and are routinely granted access to the flight deck. If we trust them for that job, I am not sure how sitting in the jump seat for a few minutes is going to provide much more of an opportunity for one hell bent on ill intent.
This system has worked fine in the US for over a decade. In addition, US 1st Class Medical rules and airline-imposed zero tolerance policies for mental illness or substance abuse also seem to work reasonably well- outside of the effect on the affected pilot's life via a career in ruins.