As reports started trickling in that the Germanwings aircraft was deliberately crashed by the co-pilot after locking the cockpit door, the focus has shifted on human psychology to find out why this happened and whether it could happen again. This was certainly not the first instance but we hope that this would be the last.
Background and testsAs the aviation industry moved to the jet era in the 1960s, the cockpit crew comprised of three and sometimes four members. Typically it would be the pilot, co-pilot and the flight engineer whose responsibility was to monitor the flight instruments. As computerisation kicked in and airlines advanced in the late 1980s, the two crew pattern became common. This happened more due to the advent of what is known as ‘glass cockpits’ i.e. digital information rather than gauges making it easier to read multiple parameters on a small screen visible to the pilot as well as the co-pilot. Thus the presence of a third member gradually decreased.
Irrespective of how many crew members are required to fly the plane, a member of the crew undergoes regular medical and physiological tests as part of the training and mandatory requirements of each and every country. In addition to this, most of the airlines worldwide have programs to ensure that the crew is not suffering from any kind of illness, and in most cases including India, a medical doctor performs a pre-flight medical test on every crew member, which includes a breath analyser test to check for consumption of alcohol.
Past CrashesThe first known instance of pilot suicide dates back to 1982 when the pilot of a single engine aircraft deliberately crashed his aircraft in New South Wales, Australia, killing himself. However, Air Maroc flight 630 from Agadir to Casablanca in August 1994 was the first instance where the pilot committed suicide with commercial passengers on board, which included a Kuwaiti prince, and led to the loss of 44 lives.
Similar instances followed with a Silk Air flight from Indonesia to Singapore in December 1997 killing 104 passengers and the pilots’ union challenging the findings of the court of enquiry which concluded that it was a case of pilot suicide. The worst of the disasters came in 1999, when an Egypt Air flight 990 from Los Angeles to Cairo via New York went down in the Atlantic Ocean with the co-pilot shouting “I rely on God” in Arabic. The crash resulted in 217 fatalities.
Why will this not happen in India?Post 9/11, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the regulator of the United States of America (USA) updated rules on cockpit entry, including having a door which can be locked from inside and a secret code to enter from outside – which the Germanwings aircraft had, but was overruled by the co-pilot from inside the cockpit.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Indian regulator, took a leaf out of the FAA rules to have stringent rules in place in the Indian skies. The rules mandate that cabin crew ensure that there are no passengers in the forward lavatory, and any passengers standing in the area near the lavatory are to be sent back before the pilot leaves the cockpit. One of the cabin crew has to then accompany the other pilot into the cockpit and the door of the cockpit is to be blocked – typically by the food cart.
In aircraft like the ATR – operated by Jet Airways and Air India in India -- the lavatory is at the back of the aircraft and the crew is responsible to see that the food trolley does not block the aisle when the pilot has to visit the lavatory so as to ensure there is no blockage of the path between the cockpit and the lavatory.
Is Air Travel Safe ?The last 18 months have been turbulent for air travel, starting with the mysterious disappearance of MH370, the shooting of another Malaysian Airways aircraft over Ukraine, the crash of Air Asia Indonesia and the latest in the case of Germanwings. While statistically air travel continues to the safest mode of travel, the global nature of the industry attracts more attention and worry.
With every disaster, the industry learns new things and implements a plethora of checks which makes air travel safer than yesterday.
By Ameya Joshi
