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BBC reports the co-pilot of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the Alps intentionally locked the pilot out of the cabin and initiated the flight's descent into the ground:
The co-pilot of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps, named as Andreas Lubitz, appeared to want to "destroy the plane", officials said.
Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin, citing information from the "black box" voice recorder, said the co-pilot was alone in the cockpit.
He intentionally started a descent while the pilot was locked out.
Mr Robin said there was "absolute silence in the cockpit" as the pilot fought to re-enter it.
Air traffic controllers made repeated attempts to contact the aircraft, but to no avail, he said.
The story seems SN-worthy because it is an object lesson in the consequences for our lives when we put complex machines and systems into the hands of others. In this case it was a trained pilot who killed a plane full of people who were powerless to stop him. Another example could be engineers who sabotage a dam and wipe out entire communities downstream. We mostly don't think about stuff like this because there is an invisible web of trust, sometimes called a "social contract," that leads people to get on a plane, or go to work, or take their kids to school without giving it a second thought. But when that social contract unravels, all bets are off...
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Nuke on Thursday March 26 2015, @11:25PM
This [two people in the cockpit always] is at best a "feel good" measure. ......... The measure might deter people who are a bit iffy about physical violence ........., but it won't stop the determined asshole.
This guy waited until the captain was out of the cockpit, so it looks like it was some deterrent. As someone else said, it takes a lot more bottle to attack someone with an axe, splattering yourself with brains and blood, than it does to press some buttons; the latter does not bring home the reality. Similar to it being easier to kill someone with a rifle than with a knife. Even if it did not stop the "determined asshole" there would be a significant probability of stopping an event - including this one by the sound of it.
I'd be much happier with stricter psychological evaluation and generally a better managerial approach to treating your employees like human beings, rather than robots.
Why assume this is to do with how the company treated its employees? Maybe his problem was at home, or with his finances, or with the world in general. I felt suicidal at a point some years ago and it was nothing to do with my employment.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 26 2015, @11:44PM
> This guy waited until the captain was out of the cockpit, so it looks like it was some deterrent.
You are making an illogical assumption.
Just because the guy took the path of least resistance does not mean he wasn't prepared to push harder to achieve his goal if he had to.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Thursday March 26 2015, @11:50PM
It is not an assumption, it is a probability. Note the words "it looks like".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 27 2015, @02:59AM
Oh puhlease. Pedant escape hatch for the fail.
(Score: 2) by engblom on Friday March 27 2015, @06:31AM
I often see this with "always two in cockpit is better". I really wonder if it is better. Are the same background tests done on cabin workers as on pilots? Would it be easy for an evil person to get employed as a cabin worker, waiting for the right opportunity to enter the cockpit? Which one is having bigger probability: A bad worker in cabin or a bad pilot?
It might be that an "always two person in cockpit"-policy takes away the protection the door is supposed to give.
(Score: 2) by subs on Friday March 27 2015, @01:04PM
This guy waited until the captain was out of the cockpit, so it looks like it was some deterrent.
That doesn't follow. A much simpler explanation was that he knew he didn't have to get his hands dirty, so he waited it out.
Why assume this is to do with how the company treated its employees?
Because I know the working conditions for pilots at some of these low-cost airlines and they're atrocious. Many times, the likes of Ryanair don't actually employ many of the pilots that work for them. Instead, they hire them on a per-flight basis and let them go as soon as high-season ends. Considering how expensive and intensive pilot training is, the enormous responsibility that they shoulder and the sacrifices that many pilots make in terms of not having time for a personal life, that sort of additional douchebaggery from management can really mess with you.