The recent tragic loss of passengers and crew on board the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed into the French Alps on Tuesday has raised alarming signals across the aviation industry. According to investigators, the cockpit voice recorder shows that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, was alone at the controls of the plane and had locked the cockpit door on his captain.
Subsequent investigations have unearthed that Lubitz was treated for depression and apparently left a note detailing his intended actions. For everyone who takes to the skies, the voice of the captain from the cockpit is supposed to be of calm reason. Now, you’d be forgiven for wondering if he is in a sound mind.
There is little passengers can do. For airline regulators, immediate changes need to be strictly enforced, with two persons being mandated in the cockpit at all times. When one pilot has to leave a cockpit when there are normally two there, the next most senior member of crew on board, purser or chief steward, needs to take up a position in the cockpit. That is the bare minimum needed at all times to prevent the repeat of such a tragedy.
