This is so terribly sad.

Two DGSs will be flying unaccompanied to Norther Ireland on Wednesday. Their first time doing it without their Dad. They are teenagers and you have to let them grow up but I will have an eagle eye on facebook where they will post to let everyone know they have arrived safely.

One of the most amazing experiences I ever had was when we were coming in to land once and were above the cloud; as we descended it was as if someone had flicked a switch and the whole world suddenly lit up. That and flying over the Olympic stadium in Greece. Flying is so magical at times like that.

I normally just love flying- and always try to get window seat as I want to see it all.

Yes. I love flying. Always try to go with BA though.

Granjura- I've got a theory why it feels different this time. It was in Europe, very close to us ( and even closer to you). The people where PLUs that we could identify with . It was a German airline that we would normally trust. The co pilot could have been our ds. Most of the other pilot suicides IIRC did not fit this profile at all so could be shrugged off as not possibly being able to happen here.

Granjura, you're not the only one.
DD's flying again tomorrow and I'm trying to be rational, keep calm etc, and it's not working.

Surely we would know if one of our children had a mental illness! Have families really lost touch to that extent?!

(catching up on thread)

No jingl I can testify that it is perfectly possible to live with your child and still not know they have a mental illness. And as I said, it is certainly possible that even if you know, you may not know at what stage your child is at any given time, or what they are planning. Don't judge unless you have been there

Jingle - some people on this thread disagree with that and there are certainly well documented cases where families were not aware. Because of all the different manifestations of depression and the different underlying personalities, of course it's possible not to know. Or not to know quite how serious the situation is

Nightowl- x post

OMG! Another one taking things for granted. Of course, it's only happened to you hasn't it.

Unbelievable.

That was to nightowl

I just love that "sorry for myself" sad face.

I never fly - it makes me puke for England.

I can understand why some people feel nervous of flying now - I do not think it is being over-emotional. This has been such an out-of-the-ordinary and shocking event that we would not be human if we did not mentally apply it to ourselves, as some of the posts on here recognise by imagining the feelings of those poor people.

The dust will settle and hopefully airlines will learn some lessons. They cannot predict for the unpredictable, but now that this has happened they have a chance to think how to avoid it happening again.

There are no easy answers - giving airlines the right to stipulate that they can see medical notes is in many ways a retrograde step and, as others have said, may discourage pilots from seeking medical help. But, on the other hand, they do need to be able to get a real grip on the health, both physical and mental, of their pilots.

How the hell can you jump to the conclusion that I think that! It clearly hasn't happened to you or you wouldn't need to ask the question. I'm certainly not claiming a monopoly on misery, nor do I feel sorry for myself, just bloody guilty if you must know. You really do take the bloody biscuit sometimes.

Here's another face for you

I will NOT my children's health issues on here. You know nothing about me or my family.

discuss

You don't need to - what I meant was you have clearly never been in a situation where you haven't recognised a loved one's mental health issues - not making any assumptions beyond that. Don't know why I'm bothering to explain really.

Ladies! Ladies! have a large glass of sit breath deeply and relax - then if you still feel the same come back for another attack

You are probably spot on GT. Lufthansa has the best safety record of all, so I don't think the airline is relevant here. Both OH on his own, and we together in a couple of weeks- will be flying with EasyJet.

. Before I burst a blood vessel.

Night owl - jings has a strange predilection for criticising those of us who think our own experiences contribute to our understanding of specific issues and accusing us of poor me-ism whilst discussing her own experiences when she sees fit.

Of course this is both horrifying and sad but surely it wasn't predictable. According to a news report that I read there have been only seven instances of pilot suicide in this way in the last thirty years. Obviously one is too many but would anyone involved – family, airline staff, even the doctor – be reasonably expected to foresee this inconceivably terrible event?

It seems to me that, apart from the scale, it has a striking similarity to those occasions when someone who is both severely depressed and angry at the world in general has run amok with a or several firearms – Dunblane and Columbine spring to mind. After killing randomly the perpetrators have either turned a gun on themselves or committed what is known in the USA as "suicide by cop", i.e. deliberately not surrendering thus forcing armed police to shoot them. No one foresaw these dreadful events either.

We all, IMO, have views and different perspectives, experiences and surely we can speculate too if we wish and be respected as individuals with a range of knowledge and life-learning.

I just feel very uncomfortable with this and other threads disintegrating into confrontations, I'm sorry but I find it very upsetting.