Bring back either a third pilot, flight engineer or navigator so no lone individual is ever left alone on the flight deck or simply put a bathroom in the cockpit so either or never leave the cockpit. Were it my airline .....my opinion.
Trust me. There will be a plethora of regulations, government mandates that will cost the airlines millions and millions, and even more checks for the pilots toads to the stress of the job. In the end there will still be a way for a deranged person to crash an airplane.
Bringing back the 3rd (flight engineer) in the cockpit will cost the airlines money, so that won’t happen, unless they rig the system so taxpayers pay.
Maybe they could require that a steward or stewardess enter the cockpit when the pilot/co-pilot leave. Then there is always the ability to open the door if the remaining person is incapacitated.
The cynic and conspiracy theorist in me tells me that the fly by wire control systems are susceptible to modifications that could render pilot control inoperable. In other words the plane could be turned into a drone. If it not impossible, then it is possible. They are already discussing hacked drive by wire controls in cars.
yes the 2 man rule is a good thing for a lot of applications.
I have seen on some airlines that when one of the pilots has to leave the cockpit they require a cabin attendant to take their place in the cockpit to answer the door. That leaves the remaining pilot to handle the controls, without having to deal with the door at all.
Yep, “NO LONE ZONES” worked well during the Cold War.
In the USA a steward must sit in the pilot’s seat if one leaves. Not so in Europe.