ANOTHER PLANE CRASH

[Midwest Spy]

Three commercial aircraft crashes have now occurred worldwide within the last 3 months, under very unusual circumstances. That's NOT including the 777 shot out of the sky over Ukraine last year.

What do you make of it? How do you feel about so little communication between pilots and ATC on these doomed flights?

The Germanwings flight on March 24 reaches its cruising altitude of 38K feet and minutes later begins a controlled descent into mountainous terrain. NO communication from the cockpit.

In this day and age, how can critical flight info still be stored on 'black boxes' which can be damaged or lost, instead of having that info real-time steamed to the 'cloud'?

An agonizing 8 minutes for those passengers yesterday (if they were conscious).

RIP to all.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think you make a good point about the methods and technologies for pilot-to-ATF communications and data storage being outdated, MS.

I wonder if the reason it's not more sophisticated is because of costs. The commercial airline industry (at least in the US) always seems to be challenged with companies on the verge of going OOB, and/or merging in order to reduce costs and stay profitable.

I could see technology developers not wanting to invest in research and development if the ROI is unpredictable or known to be low/non-existent.

Those are just my thoughts and observations, not facts.

On a personal level, I still consider flying to be a very safe mode of transportation and one that I typically enjoy.



RIP to the downed passengers and their families; I hope there are some solid answers and explanations forthcoming on this one.

[Midwest Spy]

Speculating is something I enjoy and am usually pretty good at.

In regards to the Germanwings crash, I don't like how governments were quick to dismiss terrorism yesterday, less than 12 hours after the crash.

That's a red flag for me. If terrorism were to blame, would anyone (governments, airlines, etc) really want that coming out?

I have a bad feeling about this one.

[Duchess]

If terrorism were to blame, would anyone (governments, airlines, etc) really want that coming out?

I don't think so. They were begging people to fly after 9/11. People were scared! They wanted people to fly and they wanted people to spend money.

[Midwest Spy]

Potential sabotage brings many, many people into play. Obviously, the pilots could again become suspects.

How about the ground crew? Why not? Ample opportunity to do something. A person would have to ensure their co-workers didn't see something, but it's feasible.

Passengers are a possibility as well, but today's screening methods are good.

I hate to think that this could be another case of a rogue pilot intentionally crashing his plane, but it's certainly not unprecedented.

French officials today said the cockpit voice recorder has been recovered, but they can't make out sounds/noises/voices they hear during the last 8 minutes of flight. They also say there's a memory card missing from one of the black boxes. WTF? Something smells fishy.

[Blindgreed1]

Potential sabotage brings many, many people into play. Obviously, the pilots could again become suspects.

How about the ground crew? Why not? Ample opportunity to do something. A person would have to ensure their co-workers didn't see something, but it's feasible.

Passengers are a possibility as well, but today's screening methods are good.

I hate to think that this could be another case of a rogue pilot intentionally crashing his plane, but it's certainly not unprecedented.

French officials today said the cockpit voice recorder has been recovered, but they can't make out sounds/noises/voices they hear during the last 8 minutes of flight. They also say there's a memory card missing from one of the black boxes. WTF? Something smells fishy.

The box is in pretty bad shape MS. Afterall it was in a plane crash.

[Midwest Spy]

Humorous BG, but at the same time, not really.

It's designed to absorb impacts greater than this particular accident. So, either it's flawed in its design, or it becomes easier to coverup sabotage by saying "couldn't find the memory card, nuts".

Malaysia MH370's black boxes also couldn't be found at the bottom of the sea even though they pinged for 30 days.

However, if it's revealed that pilots are intentionally crashing planes, the airline industry will have a difficult time retaining their customer base.

Just a gut feeling.

[HairOfTheDog]

If this plane went down as a result of a terrorist attack, the terrorists will be sure to let us know.

I'm not psychic or anything, but considering that the whole point of terrorism is to instill terror, I feel confident in my assertion.

I'm not aware of any terrorist agenda to increase aerophobia.

[Midwest Spy]

I really hope Germanwings releases the names of the pilots on this flight soon.

If either one is Muslim...

And please, don't accuse me of Islamophibia.

EgyptAir 1999, SilkAir 1997, LAM Air 2013, Malaysia MH370 2014.

All crashes have one thing in common.

[HairOfTheDog]

I really hope Germanwings releases the names of the pilots on this flight soon.

If either one is Muslim...

And please, don't accuse me of Islamophibia.

EgyptAir 1999, SilkAir 1997, LAM Air 2013, Malaysia MH370 2014.

All crashes have one thing in common.

They have more than one thing in common, MS.

-Aside from SilkAir, the airlines you referenced are all based in predominately Muslim countries.

-For SilkAir, the flight left Indonesia (which is the largest Muslim population in the world)

So, exactly what is it about the pilots being Muslim that you find so suspicious?

And, why do you think Muslim pilots would plot to kill a bunch of Muslim strangers without leaving any manifesto or explanation, or without their terrorist affiliates taking credit if they were part of organized terror?

What would be the point?

[Duchess]

He's Islamaphobic.

[Midwest Spy]

He's Islamaphobic.

You're right in that I don't trust anyone who is a Muslim.

[Duchess]

You're not alone in that.

[Duchess]

CNN is reporting that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit.

[Midwest Spy]

CNN is reporting that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit.

Mind boggling.

MH370 had essentially leveled off too. Perfect time for one of the pilots to leave the cockpit.

I had wondered today when first reports of the CVR said they heard voices/sounds but couldn't make out who was speaking. Very odd.

Turns out, the pilot locked out is heard trying to break down the door.

Now it would seem that those passengers were well aware of what was happening for those 8 minutes.

[HairOfTheDog]

Turns out, the pilot locked out is heard trying to break down the door.

Now it would seem that those passengers were well aware of what was happening for those 8 minutes.

A French prosecutor gave a press conference this morning.

According to his report, the co-pilot intentionally crashed the plane.

The co-pilot is German. He is Andreas Günter Lubitz and he was 28-years-old with 600 flight hours. I wanna know more about him.

The 150 passengers were from all over the world, including a group of children returning from a school trip and 49 people from Spain.

The prosecutor indicated that those on-board didn't likely realize what what was happening until the last seconds because that's when screaming can be heard.

I think you're right though, MS, that the passengers had to know they were doomed during those 8 minutes as the pilot tried to get back into the cockpit and the plane was descending rapidly. Very sad either way.

[HairOfTheDog]

^ That's the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, according to Spanish newspapers.

At this morning's press conference, the French prosecutor Mr. Robin said about him:

'His breath was not of somebody who was struggling. He never said a single word. It was total silence in the cockpit for the ten past minutes. Nothing.'

Mr Robin said he had no known links with terrorism, adding: 'There is no reason to suspect a terrorist attack.'

And asked whether he believed the crash that killed 150 people was the result of suicide, he said: 'People who commit suicide usually do so alone... I don't call it a suicide.'

So, essentially, at present Mr. Robin believes the crash was a deliberate solo act of mass murder.

[Midwest Spy]

I can't wait to hear more about the co-pilots background, friends, interests, etc.

28 years old. You'd think everything to live for.

Unless an Islamic Terrorist faction has gotten ahold of you. Brainwashed you.

Think about it. If your girlfriend leaves you do you choose to kill 149 others? Most likely not.

I don't know for sure of course and actually hope I'm wrong, that he's just a whack-job.

But, if that's the case, how do we keep this from happening in the future?

Really bad deal.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, like I said, if Lubitz intentionally crashed that plane as an operative for a terrorist organization, that organization will be claiming credit soon enough. They will be looking to gain power and exposure for their cause and instill terror towards them from their perceived enemies. Otherwise, the crash will have been pointless for them.

-If he was a terrorist operative, the motive will be easier and more quickly determined than if he was completely self-motivated.

-What does his Lufthaunsa/GermanWings employee record reveal? Murder/suicide and mass murder on-the-job is often a result of workplace beefs.

-Did he have a fascination with mass murderers? Did he glorify them and crave the notoriety of becoming one?

-Did he have a history of depression or suicide attempts? I understand that Mr. Robin doesn't call it 'suicide' since Lubitz took 150 people out with him and Robin instead considers it premeditated mass murder. But, that doesn't mean the 'suicide' wasn't Lubitz's intent and he just didn't give a shit about the others or somehow rationalized that we was doing his victims a favor.

There are a number of possible motives for Lubitz to have intentionally crashed that plane. Certainly, investigators are looking at every corner of his life with a microscope right now. I'm hoping he left a written or taped explanation before he got on the plane that day, if it was premeditated that far in advance. If not, there will be a lot of speculation and we might never really know.

[Midwest Spy]

I'll take the other angle.

ISIS and Al-Qaeda are looking for lone wolf operatives. I'm not so sure any 'credit' needs to be claimed as long as someone is completing the mission.

I just saw a few details about him: joined Germanwings in late 2013 and had 630 hours of flying experience. A newbie in the industry.

I'll go so far as to say that Tuesday's flight was the culmination of a specific mission: he became a pilot with the sole purpose of one day being in the position to commit mass murder.