Co-Pilot Deliberately Crashed Germanwings Plane

[Moonlight J]

U.S. procedure requires two people in the cockpit at all times. If a pilot has to leave, one of the flight attendants goes in. Not sure that would have helped in this case, but it could help in the case of a co-pilot getting sick while the pilot is in the head.

I can tell you this isn't practiced. What I see a lot of these days is the flight attendant will push one of the meal carts in the way of the aisle and stand there while the cockpit door remains closed. In fact, I've even seen the door remain open a time or two while the pilot jumped up to take a leak.

[chancellor]

I can tell you this isn't practiced. What I see a lot of these days is the flight attendant will push one of the meal carts in the way of the aisle and stand there while the cockpit door remains closed. In fact, I've even seen the door remain open a time or two while the pilot jumped up to take a leak.

I saw this a bit a couple of years ago, but I know Delta cracked down on their pilots on this issue, and the "2 in the cockpit" rule has been followed pretty religiously by them since. I fly little other than Delta (American on occasion, United only if I absolutely must, Southwest during good weather), so I can't speak to the other airlines.

[Fresno Bob]

nightmare scenario....I'd call for the cart-ram. Get the biggest guy on the plane behind me, I get the cart, we back up 20 feet and go for the battering ram......pilot sits in 1b and is ready to grab the stick when we pull the asshole out with a rear naked choke...probably won't work, but have to try something if only to keep myself from screaming

[onejayhawk]

And man, thinking about this more, at least with a suicide bomber it just "happens" and you're left with the pieces. In this case, 148 souls saw their plane descend into a mountain range while the pilot attempted to bash down the door right in front of them. It's hard to know what they may have been thinking, but terrorism or a hijacking must not have been far off. And then terror as the mountains drew closer and the captain's actions likely grew more panicked.

It reminds me of Challenger. The crew was alive and conscious the whole five minute fall.

J

[onejayhawk]

nightmare scenario....I'd call for the cart-ram. Get the biggest guy on the plane behind me, I get the cart, we back up 20 feet and go for the battering ram......pilot sits in 1b and is ready to grab the stick when we pull the asshole out with a rear naked choke...probably won't work, but have to try something if only to keep myself from screaming

No time. They were probably minutes into the descent before most people noticed.

J