Airbus A320 crashed in Southern France

[Denti]

These were the first two flights after his period off duty during which it seems his girlfriend/fiancee had said she would leave.

Actually they weren't. The day before he did a ferry flight to berlin schönefeld and deadhead back to DUS.

[Airbubba]

Mode s enhanced transmits selected alt. You don't need full ADS-B.

Thanks for that clarification and the video link.

So, was the altitude knob twiddling on the earlier sector indeed a test of whether the controllers would see the altitude selection?

Like a lot of us, I've flown in that airspace for years and still don't know much about what is displayed at the ATC positions.

[thcrozier]

I thought I read somewhere that the Captain never left the Flight Deck on the previous leg. I guess I was mistaken.

[captplaystation]

Tend to agree with DB64 there too.

Can't imagine what must be going through the mind (well, I can actually ) of anyone who was a passenger on the Southbound sector.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by Organfreak

I'm (easily) confused. Did you mean, "northbound"?

No, the reference is to "what must be going through the mind [present tense] of anyone who was a passenger" on the DUS-BCN leg that day, now that it emerges that Lubitz may have used that flight to rehearse the procedure that subsequently led to the death of all on board the return leg.

[mommaklee]

It will be interesting to learn if he was alone at any point on the the fd on the ferry flight. If so, the choice to intentionally cfit with passengers seems rather clear, and moves the murders from an act of opportunity to one of choice.

[RifRaf3]

There is a serious issue of any pilot in a two pilot crew leaving the cockpit during climb or descent. It should only occur in cruise as there is nobody to monitor the cleared inputs. This is sub standard airmanship.

On the fatal leg the Capt did not try to get back in until 5 mins after the fatal descent had began. It indicates that he considered this as normal practice. He was out of his seat on both legs when the descent began.

[RifRaf3]

If it's now perfectly normal to have only a single pilot self-monitoring during major changes of vertical flightpath, then safety has eroded considerably.
It's not difficult to organise your toilet breaks before TOD.

[fireflybob]

Whilst I agree ideally a comfort break should be timed to be completed prior to TOD this does not preclude many routes, certainly in Europe, where ATC might require a level change well before the "normal" TOD.

[UV]

On the fatal leg the Capt did not try to get back in until 5 mins after the fatal descent had began. It indicates that he considered this as normal practice. He was out of his seat on both legs when the descent began.

Bit unfair...he had no idea what was to follow the second time.

[RobertS975]

As far as the Captain leaving the cockpit, I can certainly tell you that in the US, unless there was a significant ground hold delay after leaving the gate, it would be a small minority of flights of that length where a member of the crew would leave the cockpit. The fact that the Captain left the cockpit so soon after departure would be most unusual in the USA.

[Sky Wave]

Maybe the FO slipped something into the Captains Coffee to ensure that the Captain needed to go out.

Whilst I agree that under normal circumstances one wouldn't leave the flight deck during climb or descent if I had a stomach issue I would try and leave it at close to TOD as possible as I would't want to have a desperate need whilst on final approach.

Sometimes the bodies needs overrule the best laid plans.

[Denti]

If it's now perfectly normal to have only a single pilot self-monitoring during major changes of vertical flightpath, then safety has eroded considerably.
It's not difficult to organise your toilet breaks before TOD.

Which he did, he went to the loo right after reaching TOC. However, in europe there might be numerous level changes for many different reasons during the normal cruise portion of the flight. Some even having to do with how the company filed the flight plan. Had a flight on that routing lately and there were five planned cruise climbs/descends on the ATC flight plan.

As far as the Captain leaving the cockpit, I can certainly tell you that in the US, unless there was a significant ground hold delay after leaving the gate, it would be a small minority of flights of that length where a member of the crew would leave the cockpit. The fact that the Captain left the cockpit so soon after departure would be most unusual in the USA.

Which might have to do with the hassle of the two person rule, which still isn't mandatory in europe, although most airlines did implement it by now. I have since seen colleagues severely dehydrating as they want to reduce their loo breaks during flight. Something that is not really conductive to top physical and mental performance either.

[Sober Lark]

Is it not possible that rather than practising he was going to crash the aircraft but could not go through with it?

Fortunate the Dusseldorf to Barcelona track of that day was to the right of the four nuclear power stations along the Rhone valley. Indeed, from the crash site to Cruas nuclear power station it is only 79 nautical miles.

[Ian W]

Originally Posted by RobertS975

As far as the Captain leaving the cockpit, I can certainly tell you that in the US, unless there was a significant ground hold delay after leaving the gate, it would be a small minority of flights of that length where a member of the crew would leave the cockpit. The fact that the Captain left the cockpit so soon after departure would be most unusual in the USA.

It may be pure coincidence and I only fly four times a week on short 1 - 1.5 hour flights, but I have noticed that the crews seem to be taking toilet breaks as the pax self load. I had not noticed this before.

[deanm]

Ian W: I concur.

I'm only a (reasonably-frequent) SLF but, on a recent Oz-NZ-Oz trip, I noticed that both flight deck crew members visited the forward lav while pax were boarding.

Not something I'd observed previously...

Perhaps this procedure is a new before-take-off check item?

[20milesout]

@Rifraf3 and RobertS975,

keep in mind that central Europe is a very congested airspace, chances are that you have to descend from cruising altitude long before your desired TOD. Regarding this it makes sense to leave the flight deck as early as possible to do whatever you have to do back in the cabin.

[Sky Wave]

@ Ian W and deanm

I think the majority of us have always used the turn around as an opportunity to use the loo. The exception is if there are technical issues on the turn around and you run out of time. In that case rather than delay the flight I'd wait until the cruise regardless of the length of the flight.

I suspect you just happen to notice it happening because you're more alert to it.

[sAx_R54]

Is it also possible that this captain had a habit of leaving the cockpit?

Prelim also says that Captain reported problem with front toilet not flushing and he was advised from base to reset a breaker at the rear of the plane. Maybe attending to this issue was the reason for him to leave the cockpit.

[truckflyer]

I am wondering how many of you have actually bothered to read the preliminary report. So many are claiming that the Captain left the cockpit during the climb!

The report clearly states the Captain left the cockpit after reaching cruising level FL 380!

Page 28 of the report, in Initial Findings.
The Captain left the cockpit at the beginning of the cruise at FL380! (just shows how many arm-chair experts there are here, when you don't even bother to READ the FACTS!

So after TOC! And before TOD!
How hard is it to read and understand this?

This is perfectly normal, special due to LCC ops often only allow 25 minutes on the ground for the turn-around, and we can't always plan the exact moment we need to make our comfort break!