[xpoxpo]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/25/europe...gs-crash-main/

Reports that one pilot was locked out of the cockpit.

[BryanXavier]

Originally Posted by xpoxpo ↗

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/25/europe...gs-crash-main/

Reports that one pilot was locked out of the cockpit.

That changes everything.

[nyazzip]

i'm curious about the crew's names. i'm betting there is an Arabic sounding name in there.

[Oswald2001]

Originally Posted by nyazzip ↗

i'm curious about the crew's names. i'm betting there is an Arabic sounding name in there.

[Bloodhound76]

Sixteen high-school Students and two Teacher

[Clubhouse]

Germanwings plane crash: A320 pilot says co-pilot can be locked out of cockpit.

It is possible for one pilot of an Airbus A320 to lock the other pilot out of the cockpit to the extent that he cannot regain entry, even if the aircraft is in a fatal dive, says an Australian pilot of an A320.

The New York Times has reported, citing an official involved in the Germanwings crash investigation, that the cockpit voice recorder shows one of the pilots had left the flight deck and could not regain entry.

"You can hear he is trying to smash the [cockpit] door down," the official said.

An Australian A320 pilot, who declined to be named, said the locked flight deck of the aircraft could be entered using an emergency code on a keypad. In the case of the pilot flying the aircraft being incapacitated, the door will automatically open after a set period of time if the correct code is entered.

However, in the event a pilot flying the aircraft does not want the other pilot to enter the flight deck, the one in the cockpit has the ability to block entry if he reacts before the door would be opened automatically.

"If the person on the other side of the door says 'no', you can't get in," the Australian pilot said.

He added that the doors are bolted and heavily protected and it would likely be impossible to break it down within minutes, even if passengers or flight attendants assisted.

"If a crew member locks down the flight deck with the manual doors, nothing will open it," a second Australian pilot said.

In the United States, many airlines have a "two in the cockpit" policy which means if one pilot exits to use the toilet or for any other reason, a flight attendant must then enter the flight deck.

It is understood the Civil Aviation Safety Authority does not require a second person in the cockpit at all times. A Virgin spokeswoman said the airline would not comment on its safety and security policies other than saying robust procedures were in place. Aviation sources said Qantas does not require a second person in the flight deck at all times, but an official response was being sought.

Ron Bartsch, the chairman of AvLaw International and a former head of safety at Qantas, said flight decks had been made especially secure to prevent terrorists from gaining access, but it had a dual effect.

"They make the cockpit so it is inaccessible, and it is inaccessible to another pilot as well," he said. "You can't have a situation that fixes everything or is fail safe."

The Germanwings aircraft descended from its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet before hitting a mountain in the French alps eight minutes later. The Australian pilot said in the event the pilot flying the aircraft had been incapacitated, the plane would have continued at cruising altitude using its autopilot function.

The pilot said the A320 is also equipped with an "expedite" function that allows the pilot to manually descend to a set level on its flight path. The function is sometimes used in normal situations but also in the event of decompression, and the descent speed of the Germanwings flight could be consistent with it.

However, the expedite function requires the pilot to set a specific altitude to which the aircraft will descend before levelling off. In the case of decompression, the standard setting is 10,000 feet. The Germanwings A320 crashed at an altitude of around 6000 feet.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviat...26-1m82vb.html

[Clubhouse]

This forum is mainly used by professionals. Pilots, ATC staff, ground crew etc...They always have a running thread on the crashes and give some "insider" views on them..Some are very technical others you can under stand...here's the link to this disaster;

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/5...rn-france.html


I usually go to the last post and work back.

[Kelseecat65]

Originally Posted by Clubhouse ↗

This forum is mainly used by professionals. Pilots, ATC staff, ground crew etc...They always have a running thread on the crashes and give some "insider" views on them..Some are very technical others you can under stand...here's the link to this disaster;

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/5...rn-france.html


I usually go to the last post and work back.

Thanks, Clubby.

[monkeywrench]

could someone have forced him to do this > His nationality is German ? How bizarre

[crice63]

I would like to know if this was terrorist related. I'm very sad that it happened, truly. I just hope terrorists didn't have a hand in it.