France plane crash: No survivors expected [Condolences to the families]

[Grand_Voyageur]

Each plane crash is a tragedy, but speculation as to what happened in France are fruitless until the flight recorders are found and decoded.

Sincere condolences to the families...

They already found it, though not sure how long it takes to decode. Don't flight recorders only collect certain flight data? I guess if it was shot down or just blew up randomly the box wouldn't be able to help (not saying it was anything to do with those two but speaking in general about crashes).

Crew conversations are actually recorded by (at least some) flight recorders, so you should still be able to infer something about circumstances of accidents. As an example, in the Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 case pilots chatting about nearby aircrafts movements suddenly stop, due to the airliner being hit by a missile.
 

[lister storm]

The fact that they didn't maneuver at all is definitely weird. I believe visibility was decent so it's not like they didn't see mountains coming if they were alive and conscious.

[Bizmark13]

Each plane crash is a tragedy, but speculation as to what happened in France are fruitless until the flight recorders are found and decoded.

Sincere condolences to the families...

They already found it, though not sure how long it takes to decode. Don't flight recorders only collect certain flight data? I guess if it was shot down or just blew up randomly the box wouldn't be able to help (not saying it was anything to do with those two but speaking in general about crashes).

Crew conversations are actually recorded by (at least some) flight recorders, so you should still be able to infer something about circumstances of accidents. As an example, in the Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 case pilots chatting about nearby aircrafts movements suddenly stop, due to the airliner being hit by a missile.
 

My knowledge is that there are usually two different "black boxes" in a single plane although they can sometimes be integrated into a single unit. One is the flight data recorder (FDR) which records the technical details of the flight (e.g. control inputs, airspeed, altitude, pitch, roll, yaw, magnetic heading, etc.) while the other is the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) which records the conversations in the cockpit.

The fact that they didn't maneuver at all is definitely weird. I believe visibility was decent so it's not like they didn't see mountains coming if they were alive and conscious.

Interestingly, one of the theories currently circulating as to the cause of the disaster is that the pilots of the plane lost consciousness due to a cracked windscreen and the resulting loss in cabin pressure which would have knocked them unconscious or otherwise incapacitated them to some degree:

According to reports circulating on professional pilots forums, the catastrophic crash could have been triggered by a sudden loss of cabin pressure...

...Rumours have been circulating that the cockpit's windscreen gave way, incapacitating the pilots and rendering them unable to send a distress call.

Link: http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/566170/Alps-crash-Rumours-circulate-cracked-windscreen-blame-Germanwings-tragedy

[Hamuki]

Officials say that a pilot was locked out of the cockpit and was banging on the door.
Atlast he tried to kick the door in.

Sadly he was unable to get it.

This still leaves the question... Why did the other pilot not respond?

[coinpr0n]

just saw this on the news today. my full condolences to the families of the missing passengers.

you'd think that the more advanced our technologies are, the less accident will happen. but for some reason we have a lot of plane crashes these days.

I think there are less plane crashes relative to the number of flights than there have been in the past. There are just many more flights now than there used to be.

Sad story. Yes, the number of flights is definitely higher - but no where close to the amount of regular traffic, not sure, I just think it's hard to make comparisons as people often do (not you). Also, while some people can miraculously survive a traffic accident, survivors of plane crashes are a very, very rare occurrence.

[(oYo)]

I just heard on the news this morning they suspect the pilot committed suicide. In the black box recording they said you can hear him breathing calmly and the captain in the background trying to break down the door.

[redsn0w]

I just heard on the news this morning they suspect the pilot committed suicide. In the black box recording they said you can hear him breathing calmly and the captain in the background trying to break down the door.

Yes, I also have heard this news this morning but it has not any sense. why he did that thing? He has killed all those people (RIP) without any reason (kill a person has not any sense, only in defense cases). However It could be a jihadist (terrorist) but I don't understand why he crashed to a mountain instead a city, so the chance of a jihadist could be very low.

[NUFCrichard]

just saw this on the news today. my full condolences to the families of the missing passengers.

you'd think that the more advanced our technologies are, the less accident will happen. but for some reason we have a lot of plane crashes these days.

I think there are less plane crashes relative to the number of flights than there have been in the past. There are just many more flights now than there used to be.

Sad story. Yes, the number of flights is definitely higher - but no where close to the amount of regular traffic, not sure, I just think it's hard to make comparisons as people often do (not you). Also, while some people can miraculously survive a traffic accident, survivors of plane crashes are a very, very rare occurrence.

That is not true actually:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_commercial_aircraft

There are actually quite a lot of crashes that do not kill everyone on board. The majority of crashes kill all on board, but it is not very very rare. There were 2 crashes of the 7 in 2014 that had survivors.
The number of plane crashes in 2014 was lower than in 2014, there were a lot more fatalities though.

[(oYo)]

I just heard on the news this morning they suspect the pilot committed suicide. In the black box recording they said you can hear him breathing calmly and the captain in the background trying to break down the door.

Yes, I also have heard this news in the morning but it has not any sense. why he did that thing? He has killed all those people (RIP) without any reason (kill a person has not any sense, only in defense cases). However It could be a jihadist (terrorist) but I don't understand why he crashed to a mountain instead a city, so the chance of a jihadist could be very low.

Suicide doesn't need to make sense to anyone other than the one committing it. Therefore, regarding all the other lives lost: A Muslim may believe he is doing the will of Allah, by waging jihad.; A Christian may even rationalize that they will all just go to heaven (or hell) a bit earlier; A Buddhist might think they were doing everyone a favor by ending their suffering; A nihilist believes everything is meaningless, therefore it doesn't matter how many lives are taken. Aside from any religious or philosophical regards, if you commit suicide, it is often simply an act of desperation and you probably just don't care anymore (emphasis made) about the repercussions of your actions.

[Bitmaxx]

They check passengers too much instead of thinking if pilots are proper to this job.

[jaysabi]

just saw this on the news today. my full condolences to the families of the missing passengers.

you'd think that the more advanced our technologies are, the less accident will happen. but for some reason we have a lot of plane crashes these days.

I think there are less plane crashes relative to the number of flights than there have been in the past. There are just many more flights now than there used to be.

Sad story. Yes, the number of flights is definitely higher - but no where close to the amount of regular traffic, not sure, I just think it's hard to make comparisons as people often do (not you). Also, while some people can miraculously survive a traffic accident, survivors of plane crashes are a very, very rare occurrence.

Well think about the speeds involved. The difference in kinetic energy of hitting a solid object at 60 mph (or less) vs. 600 mph is enormous, plus cars are engineered to protect the passengers as much as possible with devices that lessen the impact (seat belts, airbags, crumple zones, steel frames built around the seats), vs. planes which cannot do much to lessen such an enormous impact. I'm not surprised at all that the vast majority of people involved in air crashes die. The forces involved are just too great to protect against effectively.

[redsn0w]

I just heard on the news this morning they suspect the pilot committed suicide. In the black box recording they said you can hear him breathing calmly and the captain in the background trying to break down the door.

Yes, I also have heard this news in the morning but it has not any sense. why he did that thing? He has killed all those people (RIP) without any reason (kill a person has not any sense, only in defense cases). However It could be a jihadist (terrorist) but I don't understand why he crashed to a mountain instead a city, so the chance of a jihadist could be very low.

Suicide doesn't need to make sense to anyone other than the one committing it. Therefore, regarding all the other lives lost: A Muslim may believe he is doing the will of Allah, by waging jihad.; A Christian may even rationalize that they will all just go to heaven (or hell) a bit earlier; A Buddhist might think they were doing everyone a favor by ending their suffering; A nihilist believes everything is meaningless, therefore it doesn't matter how many lives are taken. Aside from any religious or philosophical regards, if you commit suicide, it is often simply an act of desperation and you probably just don't care anymore (emphasis made) about the repercussions of your actions.

You are right, it could be a raptus attack. This situation reminds me this film : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Tales_(film)  They should check the story of each passenger (it is very strange).

[innocent93]

Passengers planes needs a escape system that have been equipped on fighters. There should be a solution for that dangerous situation instead of sitting waiting for death.

[redsn0w]

Passengers planes needs a escape system that have been equipped on fighters.

I think it is better to add a new security system to the airplane, why not add something like a key "multisig" so if the co-pilot (like in this bad situation) close it into the cabin the pilot and one hostes can open the door with their "keys". I hope you understand, it is the same system of the multisig address (2of3).

[sherbyspark]

They check passengers too much instead of thinking if pilots are proper to this job.

Its hard to be involved in their personal life and address each pilot in particular. Its still not clear what the intention was, but I don't see anyone thinking of suicide taking down a lot of people with him, unless he developed hate due to a terrible experience.

[(oYo)]

I just heard on the news this morning they suspect the pilot committed suicide. In the black box recording they said you can hear him breathing calmly and the captain in the background trying to break down the door.

Yes, I also have heard this news in the morning but it has not any sense. why he did that thing? He has killed all those people (RIP) without any reason (kill a person has not any sense, only in defense cases). However It could be a jihadist (terrorist) but I don't understand why he crashed to a mountain instead a city, so the chance of a jihadist could be very low.

Suicide doesn't need to make sense to anyone other than the one committing it. Therefore, regarding all the other lives lost: A Muslim may believe he is doing the will of Allah, by waging jihad.; A Christian may even rationalize that they will all just go to heaven (or hell) a bit earlier; A Buddhist might think they were doing everyone a favor by ending their suffering; A nihilist believes everything is meaningless, therefore it doesn't matter how many lives are taken. Aside from any religious or philosophical regards, if you commit suicide, it is often simply an act of desperation and you probably just don't care anymore (emphasis made) about the repercussions of your actions.

You are right, it could be a raptus attack. This situation reminds me this film : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Tales_(film)  They should check the story of each passenger (it is very strange).

That looks like an interesting movie. I'll definitely try to find a copy to watch. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3011894/

Passengers planes needs a escape system that have been equipped on fighters. There should be a solution for that dangerous situation instead of sitting waiting for death.

Cool idea, but it would be far too costly, not to mention add a lot of weight to the plane. I could think of a few (more political) reasons why it would never happen.

[bitgeek]

Passengers planes needs a escape system that have been equipped on fighters. There should be a solution for that dangerous situation instead of sitting waiting for death.

Do you mean the ejector seat? There's technically no way to do it and I can already tell you that it won't be implemented. There are many reasons and here's a few obvious ones:
-It would greatly increase the weight of the plane as each seat has its own parachute, air supply for the passenger and gas tanks to achieve thrust.
-Each ejector would open the ceiling and decompress the cabin, so you'd have to eject everyone at the same time. That said, who would be responsible for the ejector? What if somebody would panic and eject 300 passengers, wearing t-shirts, somewhere over the arctic circle...

[TheIrishman]

Germanwings flight 4U9525 deliberately flown into mountain, says prosecutor

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/germanwings-flight-4u9525-deliberately-flown-into-mountain-says-prosecutor

<< The co-pilot of the Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday, killing 150 people, appears to have deliberately flown it into a mountain after locking the flight captain out of the cockpit. During the last eight minutes of the flight, the co-pilot "voluntarily" carried out actions that led to the destruction of the aircraft, Brice Robin, a French public prosecutor, said at a press conference in Marseille.

Citing evidence from a cockpit voice recorder recovered from the Airbus A320, Robin outlined the last moments of the doomed plane in a chilling account of the actions of the co-pilot, whom he named as 28-year-old Andreas Lubitz. Robin said Lubitz could be heard breathing right up until the point of impact, suggesting he had not lost consciousness. However, he failed to respond to increasingly desperate calls from the captain trying to break down the cockpit door, or to air traffic controllers. Passengers could be heard screaming just before the crash, Robin said. >>

[pedrog]

Germanwings flight 4U9525 deliberately flown into mountain, says prosecutor

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/germanwings-flight-4u9525-deliberately-flown-into-mountain-says-prosecutor

<< The co-pilot of the Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday, killing 150 people, appears to have deliberately flown it into a mountain after locking the flight captain out of the cockpit. During the last eight minutes of the flight, the co-pilot "voluntarily" carried out actions that led to the destruction of the aircraft, Brice Robin, a French public prosecutor, said at a press conference in Marseille.

Citing evidence from a cockpit voice recorder recovered from the Airbus A320, Robin outlined the last moments of the doomed plane in a chilling account of the actions of the co-pilot, whom he named as 28-year-old Andreas Lubitz. Robin said Lubitz could be heard breathing right up until the point of impact, suggesting he had not lost consciousness. However, he failed to respond to increasingly desperate calls from the captain trying to break down the cockpit door, or to air traffic controllers. Passengers could be heard screaming just before the crash, Robin said. >>

Is there any indication if it was religiously motivated?

[Spendulus]

Germanwings flight 4U9525 deliberately flown into mountain, says prosecutor

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/germanwings-flight-4u9525-deliberately-flown-into-mountain-says-prosecutor

<< The co-pilot of the Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday, killing 150 people, appears to have deliberately flown it into a mountain after locking the flight captain out of the cockpit. During the last eight minutes of the flight, the co-pilot "voluntarily" carried out actions that led to the destruction of the aircraft, Brice Robin, a French public prosecutor, said at a press conference in Marseille.

Citing evidence from a cockpit voice recorder recovered from the Airbus A320, Robin outlined the last moments of the doomed plane in a chilling account of the actions of the co-pilot, whom he named as 28-year-old Andreas Lubitz. Robin said Lubitz could be heard breathing right up until the point of impact, suggesting he had not lost consciousness. However, he failed to respond to increasingly desperate calls from the captain trying to break down the cockpit door, or to air traffic controllers. Passengers could be heard screaming just before the crash, Robin said. >>

Is there any indication if it was religiously motivated?

Updated: 26 March 2015

MARSEILLE, France -- Barely a day after the New York Times reported that the voice recorder of Flight 9525 revealed the pilot banging on the door to get back into the cockpit, authorities have released the name of the presumably suicidal co-pilot, and happily, his first name is not "al-".

French prosecutor Brice Robin said that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, 29, was initially "courteous," though when the captain asked about going for lunch after the flight, Lubitz gave a cryptic reply about preferring virgins.

Evidently, the pilot left for the toilet (für gepißßing) and the co-pilot locked the door, hardened cockpit doors being an innovation adopted after the last time a plane was intentionally crashed. The Airbus A320 is designed with safeguards to allow emergency entry into the cockpit — which can never be used by anyone who does not belong inside to begin with — but the override code is disabled in the case of a co-pilot desiring to commit mass murder and suicide.

Standard U.S. operating procedure is not to leave the co-pilot alone in the cockpit but to put a stewardess inside, because she is never a jihadi, as of course the co-pilot is not either.

Mr. al-Lubitz was a veteran flier who had flown thousands of flights without ending any of them in the side of a mountain. But Mr. Robin refused to disclose the co-pilot's religion.

Yeah, it'll most likely shape up into yet another Allah Akbar.