Report says one pilot locked out of cockpit before Germanwings crash

Likely to remain a mystery like Malaysian Flight MH-370.

Reports now say that the pilot had left the co-pilot alone in the cockpit(a violation of the 2-person protocol) and was banging on the door trying to get back in but there was no audible response from within the cockpit. The co-pilot may have had a medical emergency, depressurization, or intentionally crashed the plane.

Allow the investigation to take place before coming up with conclusions.

what puzzles me is that - watching the news - the folks they have spoken to about recorders and all seem amazed that there is any useful data on them. i thought the whole point of thenm was that they are indestructible and reliable......

Seems somewhat unlikely that the copilot would just watch his plane slowly descend until it hit a mountain.

On the other hand, what's the likelihood of a medical emergency just at that critical point, after they achieve cruise and the captain heads to the bathroom?

Likely to remain a mystery like Malaysian Flight MH-370.

well thats it. Investigators might as well pack up their things and leave. A complete novice and layman on an internet site has declared it a mystery forever (despite finding the wreckage and black box)

Reports now say that the pilot had left the co-pilot alone in the cockpit(a violation of the 2-person protocol) and was banging on the door trying to get back in but there was no audible response from within the cockpit. The co-pilot may have had a medical emergency, depressurization, or intentionally crashed the plane.

i am sure there are features built into the system to prevent a pilot getting accidentally locked out of the cockpit, possibly unless the remaining pilot means to lock him out.

There was recently a report where a pilot couldn't reenter the covkpit after a toilet break.

The black boxes look in bad shape but still hold some useable data.

Many people don't know that there are coffin hotel style beds on airliners for the crew to take naps, plus there are usually 3 people in the cockpit( pilot, co-pilot and navigator).

Many people don't know that there are coffin hotel style beds on airliners for the crew to take naps, plus there are usually 3 people in the cockpit( pilot, co-pilot and navigator).

People don't know this because on an A320 its not true. There are no beds on medium range airliners like that and a navigator has been redundant for years. It is a 2 man crew.

Wow! Chilling situation. Now pilot suicide is a real possibility. Have the looked into the background of the guy?

I hope they find out more...

The airline hasn't released the names of the pilots. Strange, since we know the names of many of the passengers already. I'm sure many are thinking the same thing unfortunately.....

Only if we could know why a pilot left cockpit and the other didn't open the door when his coworker came back. I wonder if it is possible to transmit the data of a recorder to the headquarters while the plane is flying.

RIP

If the pilot remaining in the cockpit had become incapacitated, wouldn't the plane simply continued on the route input to the flight computer? I assume that route did not include instructions to descend into the middle of the Alps.

The first half of Germanwings Flight 9525 was chilling in its normalcy

Aren't all flights that crash?

Likely to remain a mystery like Malaysian Flight MH-370

Unlikely as they already have far more information by day 2 than they do about MH-370 a year on.

i thought the whole point of thenm was that they are indestructible and reliable......

And the Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable.

They can only make them so strong. They are very strong. It's just the impact/conditions of some accidents are too great.

A plane crashing on take-off or landing is only going about 150-200kmph. Likely they're low, and in many cases the ground absorbs some of the impact - either by being soft (water, mud, or even regular grass) or due to the fact the plane skids or slides (and slows) before breaking up. I don't know for sure, but it looks like this plane went straight into the rocky mountain at near full-speed (possibly up to 900kmph). It's no wonder they thought it might not have survived.

Lazybones:

" Strange, since we know the names of many of the passengers already. I'm sure many are thinking the same thing unfortunately..... "

Yep. Lets see if we get the name of the copilot or not.

@Lizz, that's why a second person is required to be in the cockpit. The new doors are meant to be impenetrable, thus no key.

The word "unconfirmed" should be added to this headline.

Although a crazy suicidal pilot is terrifying, I'm also relieved that the crash wasn't caused by some unexplained mechanical fault that could strike again at any time. In otherwords, the airplanes are safe, it's the human pilots that are dangerous.

Media reporting on other media is never good, these audio recordings are held and analyzed at the highest security levels, not even the CEO of the company is allowed to hear these recordings.

There is no key on the pilot for obvious security reasons but under normal circumstances there should be a code/procedure to enable access to the cockpit by other crew members.

Lizz:

" but under normal circumstances there should be a code/procedure to enable access to the cockpit by other crew members. "

,,,,which the crew members then can be forced to tell to hijackers with a box cutter held to their throat? The reason for the locked doors is precisely that after 9-11 nobody is supposed to get in.

Well, the French authorities are not denying this newspaper report. According to the pundits on CNN, the doorlock is, by protocol, left in the ”normal lock” position at all times during the flight, as opposed to the “unlocked” or “locked” position. In the “normal” position, the pilot that left the cockpit can open the door with a code when returning to the cockpit. In the “locked” position, nobody can open the door. So if even if the pilot in the cockpit would have been incapacitated for some medical reason, the other pilot should have been able to re enter the cockpit. He couldn’t because, for some reason, the doorlock was put in the “locked” position. Also by protocol, a pilot is never to be left alone in the cockpit. Would be sad if this turns out to be a deliberate act.

Media reporting on other media is never good, these audio recordings are held and analyzed at the highest security levels, not even the CEO of the company is allowed to hear these recordings.

Really? The black box transcript of Air France 447 that crashed in 2009 has been published Ending with the words: "Damn it, we're going to crash... This can't be happening!"

Clamenza

People don't know this because on an A320 its not true. There are no beds on medium range airliners like that and a navigator has been redundant for years. It is a 2 man crew.

We're not talking about a navigator or flight engineer who has a permanent place in the cockpit. Even on an aircraft with just one pilot and copilot, if one of them leaves the flight deck for whatever reason a third person (who doesn't have to be capable of piloting the aircraft), usually a flight attendant, is required to take their place in order to maintain a two-person presence precisely to prevent situations like this one where something has happened to the lone individual left at the controls. If there really was only one person in the cockpit behind a locked door on the final phase of this flight, then protocols were indeed violated.

They explained on the news just now that there are 2 passwords. 1) Standard one that will buzz the person in cockpitnto verify who wants in. 2) Emergency password that will open the door.

The door can also be opened manually from inside the cockpit. Those 2 passwords are also known by the cabin stuff.

One of the oddest things... the pilots have STILL not been named. A fast, but controlled descent, not able to open the door because it is on the LOCKED setting, well, that was done with intent. The source telling of the desperation to get through the door... it hardly bears thinking about, knowing, as the mountains come into view. There has to be regular psyche checks of pilots / co-pilots, but in all honesty, no one person should be left in the cockpit on their own.

@It's me: Incorrect, there is a LOCKED setting that can not be overridden, because if you KNOW the password and someone has a way of killing you stuck in your face, you're going to tell the password. There is an override switch – effectively a deadlock – that can be engaged from the inside, meaning the door cannot be opened from the outside for a pre-set length of time between five and 20 minutes.

Pilots been named in the international news.

`ItS7 me, all mainstream media is using the identifiers, Pilot 1 and Pilot 2.

Really, how many languages have you checked?

@USNinJapan2

"If there really was only one person in the cockpit behind a locked door on the final phase of this flight, then protocols were indeed violated."

In the USA. In Europe, the protocols can be different.

USNinJapan2 - I was pointing out "Its ME"s false assertions that there are navigators on commercial aircraft, not protocals that may have been broken

Pilot suicide.

ITsme;

" Pilots been named in the international news. "

Really? Can you share it? I have checked the news in several languages and not seen it.

@It"S ME

Pilots been named in the international news.

So what are the pilots' names according to the non-english international media? I think we all want to know.

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2015/03/26/the-latest-official-says-1-pilot-apparently-locked-out

I am fairly sure there would be standard Airbus procedures that safeguard against both pilots being incapacitated in the cockpit....

a violation of the 2-person protocol

I have yet to find any report that confirms that Europe and/or Germanwings has any such protocol or regulation.

what's the likelihood of a medical emergency just at that critical point

Just as likely as a medical emergency at any other random point in time.

The airline hasn't released the names of the pilots. Strange

Why strange? What right does the public have to this information while the investigation is ongoing? So they can speculate about them? Maybe so they can harrass their families?

I'm also relieved that the crash wasn't caused by some unexplained mechanical fault that could strike again at any time.

Except they still don't know what caused the crash. It could still turn out to be a mechanical fault.

Well, the French authorities are not denying this newspaper report.

Well that proves it is 100% true. Anytime someone doesn't explicitely deny something it HAS to be true. Not like they are busy with other things.

Mike O`Brian:

" Why strange? What right does the public have to this information while the investigation is ongoing? So they can speculate about them? Maybe so they can harrass their families? "

The pilots are dead, and nobody is going to harrass their families. If the names of other crash victims are released, why not the pilots? One obvious point that many people traipse around would be to confirm that the name of the copilot is not Mohammed, which would then open the door to speculation that this was another martyrdom thing.

The fact that Germanwings holds back on this only fuels the rumourmill.

The French authorities have said the co-pilot (Andreas Lubitz) crashed the plane deliberately

Really? Can you share it? I have checked the news in several languages and not seen it.

Pilot: Patrick S Co-Pilot: Andreas Lubitz

Ok, we know the names. As long as we don´t know them personally - most of us probably wont - what does it help?

I don´t think that Germanwings tries to hold back any information, authorities will find out anyway.

Its a tragedy and it shows again, that despite any rules, safety checks ... the human beeing is the weakest part in the system.

The latest from Yahoo USA: "Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said the commander left the cockpit, presumably to go to the lavatory, and then was unable to regain access. In the meantime, he said, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz manually and "intentionally" set the plane on the descent that drove it into the mountainside in the southern French Alps." http://news.yahoo.com/official-1-pilot-locked-crash-plane-cockpit-072049706.html?clear-cache

If this is true it is truly scary.

I'd be interested to know the remaining pilots name

Well, news are coming out. Apparently no visible problems with Andreas Lubitz, no connections to terrorism, no mental record, no family problems.... sudden insanity. Scary!

The name of the pilot is either Patrick Sondheimer or Sondenheimer... differs depending on the sources. One thing is sure though: he has the most tragic role in this cruel play as he was the only one who realized what was going on and could do absolutely nothing against it.

According to his colleagues he was a highly skilled, professional and experienced pilot. And father of two young children. RIP Patrick, it's your name that should be remembered, not the one of the sick damn bastard who crashed the plane.