Posted on 03/25/2015 5:11:16 PM PDT by varialectio
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
We don't have to rush to judgement but we can ask the next logical question...What is the background of the co-pilot that remained in the cockpit?
I'd be helping the pilot smash that door down, not just sitting there.
Whoooa! Now that gave me chills! You are absolutely right.
did they say that any chatter from the passengers was audible?
Jerry Seinfeld said that? Well I guess he can be funny. :)
Any AA (American Airlines) frequent flyers here on FR know if this is true? I have heard from AA flyers that if one of the 2 pilots steps out of the cockpit for the restroom, etc., a flight attendant steps into the cockpit & leaves a service cart behind to block the aisle while they are in there. Pilot comes back, knocks, gets observed by the FA thru the cockpit peep hole & gets let back in. This eliminates the 1 pilot by himself point of failure (heart attack, shenanigans, etc., etc.). Anyone see that procedure on any of their flights?
Why don’t they have cameras on planes. Every 711 convenience store in the country has them and we always have to guess what happened with a plane crash? Seriously? They only have sound of pilot knocking, not video?
My guess is the canopy above the flight deck ripped open causing instant incapacitation of the flight crew. This would only leave seconds for anyone in the passenger compartment to respond before loss of cabin pressure knocked them out. But at that altitude there is not much anyone can do. If reports are correct and there was a sustained 8 minute decent this would make sense as the flight controls were not effected but autopilot was not active. However the autopilot would have maintained a steady course but I do not know SOP of Germanwings and autopilot use on regional flights.
And no... The flight deck is not behind a separate pressure bulkhead. Lose the cockpit in an instant lose the entire plane. Cockpit and cabin are all in the pressure vessel. There are no aircraft, to my knowledge, that have a pressure vessel for the passenger compartment and the cockpit.
Like I said I am only guessing. Analysis of the windshield and structures around the cockpit will reveal a lot, if they can find any pieces. In all my experience I have never heard of such an incident like I am suggesting because the windscreen and flight deck are the most heavily ‘fortified’ structures on the plane. The closest thing I can recall is the flight between Hawaii and the mainland where the passenger compartment blew apart mid flight killing a flight attendant but not destroying the entire aircraft. It is a damned tragedy regardless.
There have been two crashes on planes (2 fatalities) I have directly worked on and it hits the entire company personally (both instances were pilot error). We work our asses off to design and build the safest most reliable aircraft available. IN fact we don’t even refer to the plane as a number but as “John Doe’s plane.” After a while, we end up calling the planes by the customer’s name as if it is a part of them. We meet the pilots and the owners. It is a very personal experience building planes. If that makes sense. When a plane goes down, we lose a family member. Not giving too much away since I worked in Wichita, Berlin, and Dallas.
Hope this makes sense.
Regards
Opie
No. Pilots only leave the flight deck for physiological reasons. Never for “incidents.”
My guess is the canopy above the flight deck ripped open causing instant incapacitation of the flight crew. This would only leave seconds for anyone in the passenger compartment to respond before loss of cabin pressure knocked them out.
__________
except for that minor detail that there was banging and pounding on the cabin door right up to the crash.
heart attack??....why didn’t the aircraft continue to fly on autopilot....instead went into a descent of 3000 ft/min
It is impossible for the remaining pilot, if incapacitated, that the outside pilot could not get in. There is a fail safe. This has to be intentional,
Up thread someone mentioned a combo key pad to get in normally from the outside, in addition to a deadbolt mechanism inside to intentionally isolate/secure the pilots.
I don't know how long the pilot was pounding on the door, but they were were at 32,000. Here is what happens at 25.
25,000 feet. Forget it! Blood saturation has now dropped to lethal levels.
Time of useful consciousness is three to six minutes with death
following not long after that. Above this altitude, suffering a rapid
decompression may also result in a condition divers know as the bends and
various other pressure related maladies. Remember, this is only HALF as
high as some modern civilian aircraft are certified to fly!
Yes. ICAO requirement. Also EU and US.
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!
Thank you!
I am putting money on a terrorist/political hit.
There were 3 Americans on board. They released the names of a Mother and Daughter. However they have not released the Name of the other who is to be reported as someone employed by the U.S. Government. Makes one wonder.
They are also not releasing the pilots names.
Only if flying with Muzzzies.
Did they say why?
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