by Maciej Buczowski
It seems that the crash of the Germanwings plane (flight 9525) was caused by the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz. According to investigators, the plane crashed in the Alps because the co-pilot used the time he had when the pilot left the cockpit (probably to go to the bathroom). The co-pilot then locked the door, which prevented anyone from entering the cockpit and decided to fly the plane to its demise [see 1]. It seems that Lubitz wanted to commit suicide, though it is hard to understand why a suicidal person would want to kill 149 other people as well.
These days doors to the cockpit are fitted with special systems preventing anyone from the outside from entering. Sometimes they are referred to as "Anti-terrorist doors". In 2001 the BBC mentioned that they may pose a more serious threat to the lives of the passengers than the terrorists themselves [see 2].
"[...] if a pilot became ill the other pilot would be unable to get help without leaving the controls to unlock the door. And if both pilots were incapacitated, possibly by smoke inhalation, it would be impossible to reach the controls in a cockpit fortress. [...] strengthened doors also carried the risk of the cockpit floor collapsing in the event of violent depressurisation in the plane, a danger avoided by the current flimsy design"
Does this indicate that the pilots should have a key, or a code or some other way to ALWAYS be able to return to the cockpit? Well someting like that already exists. There are two such codes: normal (or standard) and the emergency code. When the former is entered, the pilots inside the cockpit see it and receive a notification. They have to look at a monitor to verify who is on the other side and what it is they want. If there is no threat they can open the door. The latter is used when the pilots are unable to open the door (due to loss of consciousness for example) This is when the flight attendants can enter the cockpit. However, the emergency code has a time limit. The pilots can override it and prevent anyone from entering the cockpit. This protocol is there to avoid situations of someone threatening crew members and forcing them to provide the code. If that happens the pilots can still prevent anyone from entering. If the pilots are unconscious and do nothing - the door opens automatically. Perhaps there is a need for additional procedures, codes or forms of authorisation?
What seems clear is that additional or more frequent psych tests should be given to pilots and possibly other crew members in order to prevent similar situations (assuming the theory about the suicide is correct). This is something that the pilots themselves have supported [see 3].
There is a possible additional question worth investigating. How difficult would it be for someone affiliated with ISIS to gain a job as a co-pilot on a commercial flight, wait to be left alone and crash the plane. No usage of guns, knives or any other weapons of any kind. Just the plane. The whole process of preparing an operation like this would be lenghty but can anyone protect us against such an approach?
Read more:
1. Conference about the crash: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/26/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/index.html?sr=fb032615germanwings820pVODtopPhoto
2. Anti-terrorist cockpit doors: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1629465.stm
3. Pilots call for a larger focus on mental health: http://www.vocativ.com/usa/travel/germanwings-crash-pilot-suicide/
4. Airbus safety record: http://time.com/3759354/airbus-safety-record-germanwings-crash/
5. Blackbox recordings: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germanwings-crash-one-pilot-was-locked-out-of-the-cockpit-before-crash-claim-us-reports-10134659.html
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