Unless You've Been In A Cave For The Past 24 Hours...

[Lord Jim]

You already know about this terrible tragedy:

Germanwings Crash in French Alps Kills 150; Cockpit Voice Recorder Is Found

DIGNE-LES-BAINS, France — A German jetliner en route from Barcelona, Spain, to Düsseldorf, Germany, plunged from the sky on Tuesday and slammed into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.

Helicopters and rescue personnel swarmed into the remote, rugged area in southeastern France after the crash but found no signs of life. Prime Minister Manuel Valls said none of the 144 passengers and six crew members survived.

The authorities and executives of the airline, the budget carrier Germanwings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, had no immediate explanation for the cause of the crash, which occurred just before 11 a.m. At a news conference Tuesday evening, Heike Birlenbach, the vice president of Lufthansa, said, “At this stage, we consider this to be an accident,” adding that everything else was speculation.

As night fell in the area, officials said they had recovered one of the jet’s so-called black boxes: the cockpit voice recorder, which captures up to two hours of the pilots’ conversations as well as other cockpit noises, including any alarms that would have sounded as the plane descended. A few hours later, they called off the search for the evening.

The plane, an Airbus A320 that carried young people, vacationers and others, crashed after an eight-minute descent from 38,000 feet, the managing director of Germanwings, Thomas Winkelmann, said at a news conference.

When French air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at 10:53 a.m., it was flying at just 6,000 feet, Mr. Winkelmann said, and it crashed shortly afterward. The terrain in that area rises to an elevation of more than 6,000 feet.

Security personnel in Digne-les-Bains, a town close to the crash site, described a scene of almost unimaginable wreckage, with even the plane’s metal structures smashed into countless pieces.

“The airplane had completely disintegrated,” Capt. Benoit Zeisser, head of the center of operations and information for the local police in Digne-les-Bains, said late Tuesday. “There is nothing left; the area of the crash is huge.”

As emergency crews combed France’s Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, Mr. Valls announced a judicial investigation into the crash. Many questions remained, including whether the pilots were in control of the aircraft during the descent and what would have caused a plane with an experienced pilot and solid safety record to crash in largely clear and cloudless weather.

The passengers included Germans, Spaniards, Turks and Australians, and among them was a class of 16 German high school students and two teachers who were returning from a study program near Barcelona. Some of their parents gathered at the airport in Düsseldorf, frantically waiting for news.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/world ... crash.html

Hopefully the cockpit voice recorder will soon shed some light on what happened here, because this a weird one...

The pilots were apparently able to conduct, (or at least initiate) a controlled descent, but in the eight minutes this was happening they never issued a mayday, nor did they respond to repeated calls from air traffic controllers, nor did they veer away from the mountains towards any place where they might be able to land.

Witnesses on the ground who saw the plane reported that they didn't see any smoke or fire, or anything at all that was unusual about the plane or the way that it was flying, except for the fact that it was flying way too low...

The pilot protocols in an emergency are "aviate, navigate, communicate" but in eight minutes they certainly should have been able to say something. All of this taken together suggests that the pilots were for some reason incapacitated. Otherwise they would have made some effort to turn the plane and/or communicate with the ground...

[Big RR]

that or the radio was bad for some reason.

[MajGenl.Meade]

8 minutes.... cell phones? Passengers unconscious perhaps? No one wants to think the worst... but whatever the cause, it ends up the same for those poor people on board.

I've pretty much decided I'm not going to take any vacations in Europe ever again

[Lord Jim]

And now this, from the NY Times:

Germanwings Pilot Was Locked Out of Cockpit Before Crash in France

PARIS — As officials struggled Wednesday to explain why a jet with 150 people on board crashed in relatively clear skies, an investigator said evidence from a cockpit voice recorder indicated one pilot left the cockpit before the plane’s descent and was unable to get back in.

A senior military official involved in the investigation described “very smooth, very cool” conversation between the pilots during the early part of the flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. Then the audio indicated that one of the pilots left the cockpit and could not re-enter.

“The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door and there is no answer,” the investigator said. “And then he hits the door stronger and no answer. There is never an answer.”

He said, “You can hear he is trying to smash the door down.”

While the audio seemed to give some insight into the circumstances leading up to the Germanwings crash, it also left many questions unanswered.

"We don’t know yet the reason why one of the guys went out,” said the official, who requested anonymity because the investigation is continuing. "But what is sure is that at the very end of the flight, the other pilot is alone and does not open the door."

The data from the voice recorder seems only to deepen the mystery surrounding the crash and provides no indication of the condition or activity of the pilot who remained in the cockpit. The descent from 38,000 feet over about 10 minutes was alarming but still gradual enough to indicate that the twin-engine Airbus A320 had not been damaged catastrophically . At no point during the descent was there any communication from the cockpit to air traffic controllers or any other signal of an emergency.

When the plane plowed into craggy mountains northeast of Nice, it was traveling with enough speed that it was all but pulverized, killing the 144 passengers and crew of six and leaving behind almost no apparent clues about what caused the crash.

The French aviation authorities have made public very little, officially, about the nature of the information that has been recovered from the audio recording, and it was not clear whether it was partial or complete. France’s Bureau of Investigations and Analyses confirmed only that human voices and other cockpit sounds had been detected and would be subjected to detailed analysis.

Asked about the new evidence revealed in the cockpit recordings, Martine del Bono, a bureau spokeswoman, declined to comment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world ... crash.html

If this report is correct, (and the fact that the BEA has "declined to comment" rather than vociferously denying it would seem to lend credibility) it looks like the most likely scenario here is a psycho-suicidal pilot or co-pilot...

The plane reaches cruising altitude, (the last radio communication from the plane occurs at this point; a very routine communication... it's one minute later according to radar that the descent begins) so at that point one of the pilots, (figuring this would be the best time, since typically once a plane is at cruising altitude it's the least likely time for some emergency to arise) gets up to take a leak...

And he's so lackadaisical about this relatively short flight milk run, that he fails to follow the proper protocol of having one of the flight attendants come in to the cockpit so that there are two airline personnel in the cockpit at all times...

At that point the psycho-suicidal pilot locks the cabin door and proceeds to pilot the plane into the side of a mountain...

While the non-psycho/suicidal pilot frantically tries to regain entry to the cabin...

[BoSoxGal]

Or the pilot on deck suffered a massive MCI, statistically more likely by a very large magnitude especially in the absence of a suicide statement or statement of terrorist objective.

Let's see what they find looking into the pilots.

God's mercy on the families & victims, whatever the cause. I cannot imagine the terror in the cabin.

[Lord Jim]

Or the pilot on deck suffered a massive MCI, statistically more likely by a very large magnitude

And just how "statistically likely" would it be that immediately before suffering this "MCI" (stroke, heart attack, aneurysm, etc.) that he would have gotten up and for no apparent reason locked the cabin door after the other pilot exited the cabin?

I would suggest that would be very statistically unlikely, by a very large magnitude...

[BoSoxGal]

After 9/11 cockpit doors lock automatically at closing, which is why the crew person usually enters at time of pilot exit. The door only opens again by being unlocked from within, thus preventing entry by hijacker. Door is also reinforced.*

Google it.


*which is why the pilot knew it was futile as he desperately tried to break the door down while 148 people screamed in desperation and prayed to God behind him, before hitting the Alps like a missile.


**if the report of the cockpit recorder is even true. Is it yet verified?

***Lufthansa's liability is huge - crew violated protocol. Respondeat superior. I wonder if Germany has liability caps? I wonder if their corporate lawyers shielded Lufthansa from full exposure for GermanWings negligence?

[BoSoxGal]

This is where you post about blind squirrels and nuts, I believe.

[Lord Jim]

This is where you post about blind squirrels and nuts, I believe.

Is that directed at me?

Because if it is, I have absolutely no idea why you think I would say that ...

ETA:

BTW, the cabin door on that plane did not automatically lock when closed, (I saw a report on this on CNN a little while ago, including a picture of the interior of the cabin door for this model plane, showing three different settings. Locking requires a manual action.)

I will agree with you about one thing...

At the end of the day lawyers will make lots of money off of this....

[BoSoxGal]

Today, as a direct result of 9/11, cockpit doors are required to be armoured and locked throughout the flight, with video cameras scanning the area outside them for the pilots to be able to judge risk. Today, no physical threats to passengers or cabin crew will cause the pilots to accede to any demands from would-be hijackers, or to emerge from the flightdeck or allow anyone into it. They just fly the aircraft to the nearest diversion and land. Whatever ills befall those in the cabin, the primary job of the pilots becomes one of ensuring that the aircraft cannot be commandeered for any purpose determined by the hijackers. That armoured door and the changed cabin drills are the most significant product of 9/11.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... el-361389/

[Lord Jim]

Today, as a direct result of 9/11, cockpit doors are required to be armoured and locked throughout the flight, with video cameras scanning the area outside them for the pilots to be able to judge risk.

Well, the obvious point would be that "required to be locked", doesn't mean they "lock automatically at closing" as you asserted in your earlier post...

(And as I pointed out in my ETA in my last post, the cabin door on this plane clearly was not designed to do that; the cabin doors on these planes do not lock automatically when they are closed.)

[BoSoxGal]

Okay, but it's still protocol to have another crew in the cockpit to unlock the door if the pilot becomes ill, and so the pilot cannot commit mass homicide - because protocol is to lock the door, MANUALLY IN THIS CASE, to prevent hijacking of the plane. My assertion stands; the locking of the door creates no nefarious assumption because it's supposed to be locked AT ALL TIMES DURING FLIGHT, post 9/11 protocol.

Does that help?

[Lord Jim]

Here's how they explained this on CNN:

The three different cabin door locking settings are "unlocked" "locked" and "normal"...

When the cabin door is set to "normal" (which is the standard default setting) it is locked, (assuming of course that the cockpit door is closed; it doesn't close automatically) but it can be unlocked by an authorized person (another pilot or a flight attendant) punching in a code into a keypad on the outside.

"Locked" is only used when the cockpit crew believes that something is amiss in the cabin, and they don't want anyone to be able to gain entry even using an entry code. Putting it on that setting requires a deliberate action on the part of the person in the cockpit.

And if one of the pilots (who would have had the access code) was desperately banging on the door to get in, then someone inside the cockpit must have deliberately changed the setting from "normal" to "locked" which would have over ridden the ability to gain entry using the code.

[BoSoxGal]

Yes but it's my understanding from information being posted by pilots in the punditry, there is also always an emergency override code known to crew to prevent either pilot from taking the plane down.

It makes sense there would be numerous protocol.

Could be a lone wolf. Who knows? The reports are still unverified.

[BoSoxGal]

[Lord Jim]

Ahem...

Germanwings Co-Pilot Deliberately Crashed Airbus Jet, French Prosecutor Says

PARIS — The chief Marseille prosecutor handling the investigation into the crash of a Germanwings jetliner said on Thursday that evidence from the cockpit voice recorder indicated that the co-pilot had deliberately locked the captain out of the cockpit and steered the plane into its fatal descent.

“At this moment, in light of investigation, the interpretation we can give at this time is that the co-pilot through voluntary abstention refused to open the door of the cockpit to the commander, and activated the button that commands the loss of altitude,” the prosecutor, Brice Robin, said.

He said it appeared that the co-pilot’s intention had been “to destroy the aircraft.” He said that the voice recorder showed that the co-pilot had been breathing until before the moment of impact, suggesting that he was conscious and deliberate in his actions.[I watched the press conference, and not only did he say that he was breathing, but that right up until the impact he was "breathing normally'] He said that his inquiry had shown that the crash was intentional.

The revelation that one of the pilots of the jetliner was locked out of the cockpit before it crashed raised new and troubling questions on Thursday, as search teams continued to scour the rugged terrain of the French Alps for clues that could shed light on what happened.

The flight, an Airbus A320 operated by the budget carrier Germanwings, was traveling to Düsseldorf, Germany, from Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday morning when it descended and slammed into the French Alps, killing the 144 passengers and six crew members on board.

The prosecutor said that the authorities had a full transcript of the final 30 minutes of the voice recorder.

“During the first 20 minutes, the pilots talk normally,” he said, saying they spoke in a “cheerful” and “courteous” way. “There is nothing abnormal happening,” he said.

The prosecutor said the transcript showed that the captain was preparing a briefing for landing in Düsseldorf. The co-pilot’s answer, the prosecutor said, was “laconic.”

The commanding pilot then asked the co-pilot to take over, and the noise of a seat backing up and a door closing could be heard.

“At this stage, the co-pilot is in control, alone,” the prosecutor said. “It is when he is alone that the co-pilot manipulates the flight monitoring system to activate the decent of the plane.” The prosecutor said that this action could only have been “voluntary.”

“You can hear the commanding pilot ask for access to the cockpit several times,” the prosecutor said. “He identifies himself, but the co-pilot does not provide any answer.”

“You can hear human breathing in the cockpit up until the moment of impact,” the prosecutor said. “The pilot was therefore alive.”

Stefan Schaffrath, an Airbus spokesman, said on Thursday that in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, Airbus had upgraded the reinforcements of cockpit doors on its planes in compliance with international regulations.

According to an Airbus video describing the operations of locking the cockpit door, it is locked by default when closed. But when a pilot wants to lock the cockpit door to bar access to someone outside, he or she can move the toggle to a position marked “locked,” which illuminates a red light on a numeric code pad outside. That disables the door, keypad and the door buzzer for five minutes.

While these functions are disabled, the video shows, the only way to make contact with the crew is via an intercom. The doors can then only be opened if someone inside overrides the lock command by moving and holding the toggle switch to the “unlock” position.

In someone outside the cockpit suspects the pilot is incapacitated, that person would normally first try to establish contact via the intercom or by activating a buzzer. If those efforts were unsuccessful, the video shows, a crew member outside the cockpit would need to enter an emergency code on the keypad.

The code activates a loud buzzer and flashing light on the cockpit control panel, and it sets off a timer that unlocks the door 30 seconds later. The person outside has five seconds to enter before the door locks again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/world ... crash.html

This is where you post about blind squirrels and nuts, I believe.

ETA:

"He who chirps last chirps best"- Johnathan Swift

[TPFKA@W]

"He who chirps last chirps best"- Johnathan Swift

[BoSoxGal]

I concede I was wrong in assuming the least worst possibility in this case; pardon my willingness to hope for the best in a terrible situation.

Clearly there DOES need to be an override code/protocol to prevent suicidal/homicidal pilots from doing something like this on future flights. I hope that beyond the liability Lufthansa faces for the break of protocol, new regulations will go into effect to address such a situation in future.

RIP victims of the tragedy, and may God have mercy on the families/friends and also employees of Lufthansa, all of whom must be shaken to the core by this horror.




*meanwhile everything I posted about the proper protocol for cockpit doors following 9/11 was correct and remains so.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I heard that the US has the protocol of always having more than one person in the cockpit at all times and that other countries may or may not have that protocol.

[Econoline]

This whole story is way too weird for me to wrap my head around....

There are still more questions than answers.

If someone outside the cockpit suspects the pilot is incapacitated, that person would normally first try to establish contact via the intercom or by activating a buzzer. If those efforts were unsuccessful, the video shows, a crew member outside the cockpit would need to enter an emergency code on the keypad.

The code activates a loud buzzer and flashing light on the cockpit control panel, and it sets off a timer that unlocks the door 30 seconds later. The person outside has five seconds to enter before the door locks again.

It seems like this process takes 30 seconds after the determination is made that the pilot can't (or won't) flip the switch back. The rest of the crew had 8 minutes to take action after the descent began, and they knew they were flying over the Alps, so...?

And of course the biggest question is still *WHY*: *WHY* would anyone do this at all, let alone with no advance warning (behavior, personal problems, political or religious motives, whatever) or verbal communication, and *WHY* would he want to involve that many innocent bystanders in his suicide?