This is so terribly sad.

Same here Loopylou- time to give GN a rest- it is just too confrontational and in the circumstances, unbearable.

Granjura x

When someone flips and kills others, all the friends and neighbours always say they had no idea, even that they had shared a joke with him an hour before the outrage.It's not always apparent when someone has suidical tendencies.

meant to post the phrase that it's NOT always apparent!

You're right absent. I hadn't thought of it like that. I think there must have been an element of anger in there somewhere.

Nothing wrong with Easyjet by the way. I think they are a good airline.

I wonder why people bother to keep on reading threads that they find distasteful.

And then do the back of hand across brow thing, as if it's all too much for them.

You're right absent. Anger is often one symptom of depression, particularly in young men. They may turn it against themselves, or against others, or as in this case, both. I think the anger is often apparent rather than the more classic symptoms of depression, which is why depression can go unrecognised in some cases. This particular young man seems to have hidden both very well. Until he couldn't do it any longer.

Let me get this right - some posters make comments about mental illness and the co pilot and his being evil and a mass myrderer that other posters disagree with. Some posters use their own experiences to disagree with the statement that parents can always tell if their children are depressed. Using your own experiences is then derided. Some posters come up with fanciful theories about what happened that others disagree with. This is then deplored as confrontational behaviour. Some if us would call it robust debate on a forum. Well there you go!

All this speculation is pointless (and tasteless in the circumstances) because the FACTS will eventually point us to the correct conclusions. As it is, the most recent fact revealed is that the young man had an assessment appointment at his local hospital last week and they have said that it was nothing to do with his mental health. So add that to your speculation - if you must. As they say on Dragons' Den - I'm out.

Can't help but feel that he was trying to reach out to someone by doing this; perhaps his parents had pushed him too hard or a girlfriend had rejected him; feel sure that more will come to light over the next few weeks.

Grannytwice thank you for your earlier comment. I too am confused about what is acceptable and what isn't.

I think this young man was obviously in a very dark place and I could never begin to imagine what was in his mind that awful day. It goes without saying that I feel sorry beyond words for the people on the plane and the ones they have left behind. That doesn't stop me from feeling sorry for this young man and his family as well. I don't think I have anything else to say really, and I certainly don't want to detract from such an emotional subject by getting into personal disagreements, so that's me done.

What is tasteless about discussing why it may have happened?

Apparently he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

I have heard of 'cries for help' Tegan but I honestly can't see how this fits into that category.

Poor woman

She's not to blame.

No, of course not, but she must be horrified.

I didn't really mean a cry for help rather that he was punishing someone in some way.

This horrific event has aroused strong emotions all round, and very different emotions, from anger to pity to blame, and for myself confusion. I cannot understand what drove this young man to do what he did - I expect none of us can.

Mental illness is impossible to understand and categorise. Whatever caused him to crack up at that moment had been simmering inside for a very long time. From the photos I've seen it looked as if he tried to cope with his illness himself. He must have felt he had nowhere to turn. It doesn't excuse his behaviour, that is beyond excuse, but he must have been in a very dark place.

Those of us who have been there, on had a close family member or friends who have taken their own lives, or are slowly destroying themselves, recognise how impossible it is to know what's going on in their world.

What's done is done. Soon the world will move on but these families, and the parents and friends of the co-pilot, will never forget and life will never be the same for them again.

For heavens sake jingle Calm down!

These last few days have been so sad and the Germans and the French are trying to supprt the grieveing as much as they can and the media are just making it worse.
But a tragedy like this one attracts so many people who have some kind of axt to grind and they can get rid of a few of their own 'hate' feelings.
German Wings have had several strikes this year and there has been a lot of infighting in the firm about pay and pensions. I feel that maybe it wasn't easy to work for them and perhaps the co pilot was scared of losing his job.
From what I read in French yesterday I got the impression they thought he had not done enough flying hours for the time he was with them. He was really only the co pilot and the rest is history.

"For heavens sake jingle Calm down!"

Pardon?

I'm fairly new to Gransnet and have been away for a few days. We have a friend who until recent!y flew small airplanes in USA for 20 + years She suffered from depression but would not take the medication because she feared that if tested and proved positive she would have lost her pilot's licence.

Had total compassion and admiration for the American couple whose 37 yr old son was killed . They said they would rather focus on the 37 yrs of happiness they had together than the tragedy of his death. Amidst their grief though they offered there heartfelt sympathy for the parents of the co-pilot. How gracious was that?

Flying to Dublin on Tuesday morning.

Well absentgrandma for the record I would feel absolute shit. Do you get that shit with a capital Shit if it were my son. But It is not my son .
Who the bloody hell is " Devine Delia" ? (and what has she got to do with anything) ?

I feel so very sorry for the parents and family of the evil monster that killed those poor innocent people (including babies and children) but as for him and his memory. I hope he rots.

I ( for one) can't stop thinking about what those poor (innocent) passengers must have suffered in the minutes leading up to their death .

absent I checked those you mentioned and one incident was with an airline we will be flying with soon.
I hope they all change their procedures rapidly.
This dreadful incident has highlighted the failings in the measures taken to prevent an attack from a passenger.

It is too difficult to think about, just heartbreaking.