The German pilots’ association Cockpit welcomed the announcement by Lufthansa on Friday (March 27) which said it will introduce new rules requiring two crew members to be in the cockpit at all times after one of the pilots at its Germanwings unit crashed a plane in the FrenchAlps, a reversal after it initially said no need to do so.
“No, it is not a rush job,” said ‘Cockpit’ spokesman Markus Wahl. “We would welcome a fast and decisive action by the airline. But we also demand waiting for the final result of the accident investigation before coming to any conclusion. There are still gaps,” the spokesperson for the association, Markus Wahl, told a news conference.
French prosecutors believe Andreas Lubitz, 27, locked himself alone in the cockpit of the Germanwings Airbus A320 on Tuesday (March 24) and deliberately steered it into a mountain, killing all 150 people on board.
Lubitz’s mental health – and what Germanwings and parent company Lufthansa knew about it – could become central questions in any future legal case over the crash. Under German law, employees are required to inform their employers immediately if they are unable to work. Wahl calls the failure to do so an “incomprehensible” act.
“Someone with a sick note has no business being in a cockpit,” Wahl said. “I cannot comprehend that.”
Earlier, German authorities found torn-up sick notes showing that the pilot who crashed a plane into the French Alps was suffering from an illness that should have grounded him on the day of the tragedy, which he apparently hid from the airline.
But he rejected the idea of regular psychological assessment of the pilots.
“As far as I am concerned that doesn’t make any sense,” Wahl said. Because our colleagues cannot go to a psychologist before every flight. For one, that cannot work in real life. Constant supervision is neither possible as far as we are concerned, nor is it necessary.”
Reports in German media suggested that Lubitz had suffered from depression in the past, and that Lufthansa would have been aware of at least some of that history.
Germany’s Bild newspaper reported on Friday that Lubitz had suffered from depression during a period when he broke off his training six years ago. It said he spent over a year in psychiatric treatment.
Reuters
