This is so terribly sad.

So far as I understand from the news reports that I have read there were no screams audible on the flight voice recorder until just before the plane crashed into the ground; in other words, it is thought that the passengers were unaware of what was happening until it was imminent. Small comfort for the families I know, but it is better than thinking of an endless 8 minutes of sheer terror.

That's what I have read too. I feel sorry for everyone involved in and because of this crash including, at the moment, the pilot. If it turns out he was a terrorist and not just some very sick dude, then I'll stop feeling sorry for him.

It doesn't sound like a spur of the moment decision, it sounds planned.
I feel so sorry for people with clinical depression who think suicide is the only way out but not for him.
He was evil to do what he did, not just depressed.

He was certainly depressed.
Whether he was evil too is debatable.
He seems to have unbalanced for a very long time.

been unbalanced.

And calculating and manipulating his employers.

He sounds as though he was more than depressed - the "delusion of grandeur" that he was going to make his name remembered has psychotic overtones; but it is very surprising that no-one clocked that he was that ill. There will now be those who in retrospect will have noticed some small thing that night have alerted them - very uncomfortable for them.

At least the two-people-in-a-cockpit rule seems to be spreading - that is a reasonable low-tech cost-free attempt to address the possibility of this arising again.

I'm not very reassured by this 'two in a cockpit' idea. I don't think a slightly built female flight attendant would be much of a match for a suicidal/ homicidal pilot who knows how to operate the controls and fly the plane. The key is to stop such a person flying in the first place, and that's what went wrong in this case. It seems as if the medical checks and procedures were simply not rigorous enough.

FGS Stop using the word "evil" in this truely dreadful situation! It is quite appalling!

To discuss whether or not someone with mental health issues is "evil" does nothing to help with regard to this disaster.

It is a disaster of someones making but to discuss in terms of "evils" just sounds to me like nasty ill informed gossip and reflects very badly on those still pursuing that line of thought.

This air crash in 2013 killed 288 and was caused by Pilot error. Shit happens

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2293750/Pilot-Air-France-plane-crashed-killing-228-people-slept-just-ONE-

I agree with Nellie about the use of the word evil. I have met just one or two people who it is hard not to use that adjective about; they were very different to those with a mental illness.

The two-in-a cockpit is a useful way to proceed quickly and is better than nothing, as the prevention route is very complicated and will need a lot of thinking through - how do you make sure that an airline knows all about a person's mental health? Do you rely on the pilot to tell you? Do you talk to their doctors, and might his deter pilots from going to their docs with a problem if it might jeopardise their job? Lots to work out and it will take a long time.

Agreed, nelliem and mishap. I started to write a post earlier about the differences between serious mental illness, delusion, and terrorism, but decided my thoughts were too ill-formed as yet. What I was wondering was whether people who turn to terrorism are suffering at the extreme end of delusional thinking and if that is a sign of illness rather than evil. Sounds wacky, huh? But 'witches' were burned for less when we understood very little.

More regular medicals mishap? Carried out by the employers and addressing both physical and mental health. Results straight back to the employers so that pilots can't avoid them and ignore their findings. Yes this pilot may have been able to mask his illness but another doctor had seen through him and signed him off, so it is not unreasonable to think a stringent medical might have assessed that he was unfit for work.

As for the 'two in a cockpit' suggestion, there are some fears this could raise the risk of a terrorist gaining access to the flight deck. It's not easy to resolve, and in trying to reduce one risk there is a possibility that we could raise another. As others have said, it is impossible to rule out all risks completely.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3014474/EasyJet-Virgin-Atlantic-making-planes-vulnerable-terror-attacks-knee-jerk-new-safety-measures-wake-Germanwings-tragedy-say-air-safety-experts.html

Reposting link to an article describing how the FAA evaluates pilots psychological health. I found it interesting.

This is what the girl friend knew and raises the question: why didn't she tell someone how disturbed he was?

If you know something worrying about a person and you don't report it is it not accessory before the act ? Even more worrying is that she is cabin crew ( I believe )

I think this is what I was thinking about - people being wise after the event and then feeling that they should have spoken up - very difficult.

It equates with child protection in many ways - over and over again the investigations into tragedies have shown that there were a number of individuals who had concerns, but it was only when they were collated with others' concerns that the true picture emerged.

bags - interesting speculation about whether terrorists are delusional or evil. No answer forthcoming here!

This poor woman and probably the parents will have to live with that for the rest of their lives. How many parents, wives and BF/GF do protect loved ones and even lie on their behalf in criminal investigations, etc. Out of fear of retaliation, pushing them over the edge, of out of 'misplaced' love.

I think he was too young to carry so much responsibility. Young men aren't always the most stable of people.

It seems there might be more to this than depression are there is talk of other psychiatric problems.

Had there been a system in place to notify the airline he has already been signed off work with a sick note, this might have been preventable.

are as

I have been clicking on your link thatbags, but cannot find the link you are referring to.

As an aside, Luftansa, Swiss, Monarch, EasyJet and a few other airlines have already agreed to change protocol so a pilot will never be left alone in the cockpit- British Airways have not, as yet.

Do any of you have any ideas why detail of the co-pilot's medical (non psychiatric) condition have not been released? Why delay and fuel more and more guesswork and speculation. It could have been anything from a terminal illness, brain tumour, Diabetes, a form of epilepsy, aids even- why keep this info secret now? Is it due to pressure from unions? But his actions int he cockpit do not link with any of the above conditions- if he had had a petit mal attack or diabetic coma- he would not have locked the pilot out or pressed the button which threw the plane in its terrible and final, deathly descent?

BTW, in Germany and in most of Europe- patients do not register with ONE GP, but can visit as many as they wish and in mayn areas- getting second, third and more opinions- so there is no ONE register of patients notes. This may have some advantages, but also means a patient can be taking drugs which interact with each other for instances- and also hide long-term conditions and those which can put others at risk, as in this case. Here where I live, it is very well known that some patients do the rounds until they hear what they want to hear, and get the treatment of drugs they want, be it anti-depressants, sleeping tablets or anti-biotics, or other treatments like CT or MRI scans, ex-rays, etc- which can work against the interests of the patient, and even dangerous!

You have to know what a huge impersonal organistion Lufthansa is. First most pilots have undergone a stringent, rigourous training. They are usually top of the class at school and had wealthy parents. They are not uaually the sort of empathetic, caring people you find in other professions.(Altough there must be exceptions) I think they just didn't notice their colleague being desperately unhappy or whatever his state of mind was. If a female colleague had noticed that the co pilot was a bit strange and reported it I don't think she would have been taken seriously.

That is what has to change. German Wings have striked three times this year because of the way that Lufhansa treats their personal.
I think he probably earned too much to be in the normal health insurance system and was what is known as a private patient. There are many consultants glad to see such patient, as often as he liked and no one would know. Its not like the NHS where you get moved around. A private patient in Germany can do exactly as he/ she wishes.