Flight 9525-- This is beyond words.
 

Germanwings plane: Co-pilot acted deliberately in crash - CNN.com

I hope that they put in more stringent controls on who flies passenger, cargo, and military planes.

According to a report I read this morning, when the first pilot left the cockpit someone else should have replaced him for the time he was gone!

I can only imagine the horror the passengers went through in seeing a pilot trying to get into the cockpit and knowing something was very very wrong.

And hurtling towards the Alps at 400 miles per hour.

How did the co-pilot know that the Captain was going to exit the cock-pit, or was he prepared to act whenever the occasion arose?

My other question is did the plane have Wi-Fi, and were passengers texting messages or photos?

This co-pilot was one sick dude. Imagine if he were a Muslim?

No matter the safeguards in place - if someone (flight crew) is desperate/crazy/suicidal/determined etc --- they will find a way to overcome and end it all.

Poor folks on board - rough way to go, especially with the Pilot trying to re-enter for that long 8 minutes. And all looking out the windows as the mountains grow closer.

Will be interesting what the investigators find in the co-pilot's background and potential reasons for his actions. And if he muttered at the end... "allahu akbar". No doubt the investigators are holding back information.
But, even with the disturbing news - at least the probable cause is being determined.

Contrary to those poor relatives of MH 370 in the South Pacific lost over a year ago...little doubt here that it was the Pilot ending it there.

Even though I've flown probably hundreds of times, I never really paid attention to whether or not a flight attendant went into the cockpit when one of the pilots came out to go to the lavatory or get something to drink from the galley.

I agree that it must have been horrifying for the passengers. From the video I've seen, it looks like the plane basically exploded into millions of tiny pieces when it hit the ground.

There are devils in the disguise of every religion. That was my first thought too though that this was some ISIS/ISIL created monster.

This man might just have snapped over some petty problems he was having at home. That's why domestic violence cases are so scary for cops to get involved. I will be interested in seeing what this man's private life was like. Could also be some kind of work dispute gone extremely bad.

I am set to fly in a few weeks and this is not stopping me from planning on going. I have not flown since 2001 when I went to UTEP on a job interview. They had armed guards at the Dallas, El Paso and Tampa airports. UTEP paid for the plane trip so they had me on some short detours.

Horrible.
 

Thank you so much for sharing this. Woke up this morning wondering about this crash and the cause, etc.

This is something I always thought could happen. ALL US (international or domestic) based flights require that if a member of the flight deck has to leave the cockpit, i.e., to use the bathroom, a flight attendant must take his/her place until they return. Don't know if flights other countries have something like this in place. The keypads on the outside of the cockpits for members of the flight crew to use to get in the cockpit can be disabled from inside the cockpit to not allow anyone to get back in.

Incredibly horrible for this to happen.

Officials: Co-pilot deliberately crashed Flight 9525

I will be looking for more news on this developing story. Feel very sorry for all the families involved even that of the pilot who did this horrible deed.

I always suspected that the pilot of the AirAsia flight that was never found last year may have done the same thing.

I have noticed on US flights that the flight attendants (depending on carrier) roll the food/bev cart in front of the aisle to block crazies from running to the cockpit door when the pilot/co pilot exit. And a member of the Attendants go into the cockpit during that time. I had wondered - if the remaining pilot really wants to take down the plane - he can take out the attendant, lock the door and... as I said- a determined nutjob can and will....

There does not seem to be any solution to stopping a suicidal/homicidal pilot or co-pilot in this situation. Maybe, the Air Marshals need more spies on planes keeping track of the signs of mental instability and otherwise within pilots. Paid for by the airlines. You can never undervalue boots on the ground intelligence and that's what sounds needed. I am a big fan of moles.

No flying for me. But I would suggest that they put a small toilet in the cockpit so the pilot doesn't have to leave.

There are probably a lot of other reasons why a pilot would have to leave the cockpit. http://aviation.stackexchange.com/qu...a-short-flight

From what I've read, everything was normal with the conversation between the pilot and co-pilot before this happened, nothing out of the ordinary, so there was no sign of mental instability with the co-pilot.

With fewer flights nowadays, most flights are so crowded with passengers that the airlines probably don't want to give up any seats for extra Air Marshals.

I am praying that this is not the start of a new form of worldwide terrorism.