Airbus A320 crashed in Southern France

[Wader2]

100 hrs SIC on A320? How long was he with GW? Hardly over worked at 100hr/m.

If he was on an hourly contract then he could have been under severe pressure.

[SLFguy]

Those locked doors have now killed more people than they have saved.

How is it even possible to make that statement?

Unbelievable.

[Interested Lay Bloke]

US involvement

Cyberhacker ...

I imagine the FBI would be involved due to US involvement in aircraft (engine?) manufacture ...?

Also there were 3 US citizens aboard.

Finally, - (and no I'm NOT one of the tinfoil hat brigade) I think one could possibly be a person of extra interest for the US - Yvonne Selke - as she apparently worked for Pentagon contractors Booz Allen Hamilton doing work for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Yvonne Selke and Emily Selke, Nokesville Mom, Daughter, Presumed Dead in French Plane Crash | NBC4 Washington

[Jonty]

I was under the impression that you could hear him winding the Alt knob on the CVR. Can't find it now though.

[AirScotia]

We have analysed the raw data from the transponder of #4U9525 and found some more dat

[Buckfast]

Originally Posted by acpm

a 28yr old with 600TT and 100 A320SIC...has no business being in the cockpit of the germanwings 320...when I got to his position at a US airline I had well over 10,000 hours and pushing 40+. Heard ryanair had a 18yr old f/o...ladies and gentlemen we need mature, experienced, stable people flying this type of aircraft PERIOD.

You are correct, in general, but;
This incident has little or nothing to do with flying experience.

[Doors to Automatic]

Regarding costs of safety perhaps the time has come for a safety fund provided by each state (paid for by premiums by airlines or flat surcharges to tickets per journey or mile) which provides a subsidy to airlines in order to "top up" any safety aspect deemed necessary such as an extra pilot, extra crew to lower hours slightly, more fuel on board etc. If it is a level playing field then there can be no competitive issues.

[flyonthewall]

A considerable issue is that if a pilot goes to the company and says he is stressed or depressed or suffering any diminished mental capacity, he is usually taken off line and a black mark put against his name. Even if the condition is a passing one (e.g. due to a divorce, death in the family, financial woes), the pilot will still be earmarked as 'one to watch'. This in itself would mean that the system is operating as it is supposed to, but unfortunately any real or perceived reduction in a pilots capacity to handle stress will haunt his CV forever. Medical departments know what is at stake and err on the side of caution in most cases.

Couple this with the fact that there are no loss of licence policies that cover diminished mental capacity/mental illness, and coming forward to say you think you have a problem is as good as tearing up your pay check and kissing your career goodbye.

[banjodrone]

a 28yr old with 600TT and 100 A320SIC...has no business being in the cockpit of the germanwings 320...when I got to his position at a US airline I had well over 10,000 hours and pushing 40+. Heard ryanair had a 18yr old f/o...ladies and gentlemen we need mature, experienced, stable people flying this type of aircraft PERIOD.

The pool of pilots with such vast pre-airline experience simply does not exist in Europe. In the US you have a very active GA sector to get pilots from even at a time when the first Vietnam-era pilots are starting to retire. For that reason, in Europe we've mostly had to rely on pilot selection by raw aptitude, especially in the last 10-15 years or so, rather than the ability to recruit seasoned experts for their first airline positions. It's just how things are.

[AirScotia]

Is it beyond the architecture of most jets to install a second security door across the corridor leading to the forward loo? It could be left open at all times, and cabin crew alerted to lock it when a member of flight crew needed to use the facilities.

[cessnapete]

What a difference this affair shows regarding the Air Safety culture in Europe re some other parts of the world.
AirAsia have had the CVR and FDR info for a month or two now, and yet not a word of a preliminary report of the fatal A320 accident off Indonesia, again seemingly crew related.

[iflyboeing747]

they will have to sacrifice that 1/2 sqm extra for that safety..

[FO Cokebottle]

Operated an ex-QF 400 out of Nigeria in 2013. It had exactly that!!.....A LAV in the cockpit.

[wheelsright]

If we take out the consideration of the Captain being locked out and the various Facebook theories, what are the possibilities of the PF having a mini-stroke or other cognitive impairment? Was he confused as to the stage of flight and fixated on the landing briefing in a state of semi-consciousness thinking that he was to commence descent?

Even for someone that is deranged and about to kill himself and all his passengers and crew, it would be surprising to me that he did not say a word (or so it appears).

[Shandy52]

@de facto, a more charitable interpretation could class this as lateral thinking!

[abgd]

Whatever the truth of this crash, I wonder what the ensuing discussions will means for pilots who have or who have suffered depression?

It's a very common disease, even in its severe forms. People differ in their resilience, but practically everybody will crack up mentally given a sufficiently adverse sequence of events. Most will recover and return to being productive members of society.

The important thing to remember is that most depressed pilots don't end up killing themselves or anybody else. And also that enabling people to seek support for their depression without fear of censure is likely to be safer than draconian options such as forcing them to work through an episode, hiding it from their peers at risk of losing their careers if they're found out.

[Spooky 2]

In fact there is a secondary security door option on the 787 and 777.

[vanHorck]

Total time when he joined Lufthansa in september2013 of just 650 hours? That does not make sense.... Thats an average of some 40 hours per month?

Was he on part time contract and unable to generate sufficient money to live on?

[AirScotia]

@PortVale

This wouldn't have prevented the incident. Cockpit door would still possibly be closed after Captain/FO exit to go to the lavatory. Even if it wasn't, when the Pilot goes to the lavatory the other could get up and close it.

The point is to allow access to the loo without the cockpit door being locked, so the locking mechanism for the cockpit door would have to be automatically disabled as soon as the crew member opened it.

[gordonroxburgh]

Quote:
Or he is entering the wrong code
The Lufthansa CEO said that even the flight attendants know this code.

You can lock the Keypad out from inside the Cockpit; this is a key part of the system, so a Flight Attendant with a knife to their throat can be made to opne the door .