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Airbus 320 crashes in foothills of the French Alps

K

Knight_Light

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Flight was scheduled to go from Barcelona to Dusseldorf.

148 were onboard.

Limited info coming in as of now as no one has been able to reach the crash site as of yet. (Aerial surveillance has spotted debris on mountainside).

Early reports are they don't know if the plane first broke up in air or if it fell from the sky intact till it hit the ground.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/24/us-france-crash-airbus-lufthansa-idUSKBN0MK0ZP20150324



This post was edited on 3/24 8:05 AM by Knight_Light
 
I'm in Luxembourg now (on the French border) and was in Dusseldorf airport last week. This sucks. Especially as I board the first of 2 flights tonight in a few hours. In fact, I'm pretty sure I passed over the French Alps on my flights from Rome to Luxembourg.

Lufthansa is on strike so the Germanwings counters were jammed in Dusseldorf when I was there. Wonder if they're still like that. I found it odd since Lufthansa owns Germanwings but the strike didn't apply to them.
 
I havent really followed the news on this. Are there concerns terrorist were involved or just a freak accident?
 
Originally posted by UCFWayne:
I havent really followed the news on this. Are there concerns terrorist were involved or just a freak accident?
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Sounds like a freak accident. Plane descended extremely fast over the mountains.

Likely either a failure of de-icing mechanism or the pilot made an error in wind sheer turbulence and put the plane into a stall. THat was the exact cause of the Air Asia crash- pilot got into turbulence and tried to ascend too fast with too little power, put plane into stall.

This is why I always question pilot experience on board these budget carriers. Germanwings is the Allegiant equivalent in Germany.
 
I read the pilot had 6000 hours in the A320 and they were descending quickly but it didnt look like they were plummeting down.
 
Originally posted by UCFKnight85:
Originally posted by UCFWayne:
I havent really followed the news on this. Are there concerns terrorist were involved or just a freak accident?
Click to expand...
Sounds like a freak accident. Plane descended extremely fast over the mountains.

Likely either a failure of de-icing mechanism or the pilot made an error in wind sheer turbulence and put the plane into a stall. THat was the exact cause of the Air Asia crash- pilot got into turbulence and tried to ascend too fast with too little power, put plane into stall.

This is why I always question pilot experience on board these budget carriers. Germanwings is the Allegiant equivalent in Germany.
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And that regional prop plane that crashed in Buffalo several years ago had the same issue...the pilot came out of autopilot and had warnings he was too slow and he ascended too fast with not enough power instead of descending and giving it more power and it stalled. Lots of pilots with not that much experience apparently all make the exact same mistake.
 
I just flew from Luxembourg to Copenhagen without a single bump. Perfect weather.

I think something really awful happened to that Germanwings aircraft. A true freak accident.

Doesn't seem there was any turbulence or wind sheer in the area.
 
So, apparently a co-pilot was locked out the cockpit during the entire 8 minute descent which ended up putting the plane into the mountain. And per reports, you can hear the pilot banging on the door to get into the cockpit.

So we at least know that people weren't knocked out from loss of cabin pressure at altitude.

We know that no distress call was made.

This is either the most bizarre set of circumstances or we have a pilot on a suicide mission.
 
Here's the NYTimes story on how one of the pilots was banging on the door from the galley trying to get back in the cockpit (maybe after going to the bathroom, grabbing a drink, etc...).

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/europe/germanwings-airbus-crash.html?_r=0

CNN had a report this AM on how some (maybe all) planes have a key code that a pilot can use to get back in the cockpit but if a manual switch to lock/override that keycode could have been pulled down by the pilot left in the cockpit.

Pilot of this flight had over 6,000 flight hours while the co-pilot had 650 flight hours in this plane.
 
PS- protocol on every flight requires a Flight Attendant to enter the cockpit if a pilot leaves. There always must be 2 personnel in the cockpit.

Apparently, there were no flight attendants in the cockpit on this plane when the pilot left.

Also, it's not just the pilots- the flight attendants have the code to enter the cockpit as well. It almost assuredly was entered but the Override was activitated from within the cockpit.

Yep, something stinks here.
 
French prosecutor just said that the Co-Pilot (guy in the cockpit) was fully conscious, breathing normally, and basically deliberately put the plane into the mountain. There is no indication anything was wrong with the plane; it was fully functional and being guided by the co-pilot.

The altitude also changed the SECOND the main pilot left the cockpit. Pilot leaves; co-pilot instantly puts the plane into a descent headed for the mountains.

Sadly, this co-pilot took these people on his personal suicide mission.
 
Originally posted by UCFKnight85:
PS- protocol on every flight requires a Flight Attendant to enter the cockpit if a pilot leaves. There always must be 2 personnel in the cockpit.

Apparently, there were no flight attendants in the cockpit on this plane when the pilot left.

Also, it's not just the pilots- the flight attendants have the code to enter the cockpit as well. It almost assuredly was entered but the Override was activitated from within the cockpit.

Yep, something stinks here.
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2 people always in cockpit is a US regulation but some other countries and International carriers do not have that same policy.

it's also been reported that in addition to hearing the pilot trying to break back into his own cockpit, screams from passengers can be heard during those final 8 mins as well, as they obviously knew they were probably heading to their deaths as the plane was descending toward the mountains and their pilot couldn't get back into the cockpit.

Thats horrifying.



This post was edited on 3/26 2:31 PM by Knight_Light
 
Have they found any information on whether or not he practiced Islam?
 
Damn this whole story is so sad. Could have just offed himself in so many other ways, but chose to bring innocent victims with him.
 
Originally posted by UCFEE:

Originally posted by fabknight:

Have they found any information on whether or not he practiced Islam?
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Just shut the f*ck up.
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How else do you determine whether this is a terrorist act or a selfish suicide?
 
He clearly did it to draw attention to global warming and the melting ice caps in the Alps.
 
Investigators have found medical notes from a MD that were ripped up in the co-pilots possession (home or hotel), that the MD gave him sick notes and declared he wasn't fit to fly that day...but co-pilot ripped up those notes later and obviously flew.

Look now for a push from the public to demand MD's who treat Pilots to notify said airlines if pilots are declared not fit to fly but pilot's union will probably declare that's against their health rights in regards to private information between them and their MD's.
 
Originally posted by goodknightfl:
In the US there is a Dr. Patient privilege.
That privilege can be broken if the doctor has reason to believe others are in immediate danger from the patient.

Mental illnesses in this type of work can be a tricky thing. Some ill people would never consider doing anything like this, others can get in to such a deep inwardly focused mental state that they can't even comprehend the effects of their actions on others.... That can be dangerous, but at the same time the person getting in to that kind of state can be a normal caring person 99.99% of the time.

Depression and other brain illnesses are strange horrible things.
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Mental Illness, or as they are reporting in Europe, that he converted to Islam.
I think within the next few days, this will be converted to a terror attack.
LINK 1
LINK 2
 
Originally posted by Notasir:
Mental Illness, or as they are reporting in Europe, that he converted to Islam.
I think within the next few days, this will be converted to a terror attack.
LINK 1
LINK 2
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Hah, that GatewayPundit article has already been blown to smithereens.
 
I flew home from Brussels to Tampa yesterday on Delta and the pilots came out to personally talk to the passengers and brief them on the trip over the Atlantic. First time I've seen that. Don't know if we just had a really engaging pilot crew or if they were trying to assure people that they too wanted to get home in one piece.
 
85, I am a nervous wreck when it comes to flying. How the crap do you make it on that long of a flight?!?! I would assume they have unlimited beer, right?
 
Originally posted by crambone:
85, I am a nervous wreck when it comes to flying. How the crap do you make it on that long of a flight?!?! I would assume they have unlimited beer, right?
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2 words: Business Class. That's the only way to fly overseas.
 
Originally posted by crambone:
85, I am a nervous wreck when it comes to flying. How the crap do you make it on that long of a flight?!?! I would assume they have unlimited beer, right?
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Sounds like those are 2 different questions. Can't really help you with the fear of flying stuff, other than to say that it's statistically the absolute most safe way to travel from Point A to Point B. Maybe look into a fear of flying class? I know people that have done them and say they're great. Honestly, I've done a ton of long flights and have rarely had bad turbulence. Flying within the US on shorter flights has always been the bumpier ride.

As to surviving long flights: business class. Thank God my work allows us to fly business when doing really long flights. It doesn't make being stuck on a plane that long any shorter, but it at least makes it more comfortable. Fully lay flat seats, unlimited drinks, food, separate cabin, unlimited movies and shows, etc

I did Dubai to Atlanta in February which was 18 f'ing hours in the air. I slept for 10 of them but still had 8 left. Makes the European flights seem like a cakewalk.

This recent trip I did NYC to London and it was exactly 6 hours which is basically the same as going to Vegas.
 
Wow, sounds nice. I am looking to go to England before the end of this year and I have that hurdle to get over. But I have heard before that the longer flights are less turbulent which is pretty much the worst part of any flight for me.

I used to travel a lot for my old job and I don't miss that one bit.
 
Originally posted by crambone:
Wow, sounds nice. I am looking to go to England before the end of this year and I have that hurdle to get over. But I have heard before that the longer flights are less turbulent which is pretty much the worst part of any flight for me.

I used to travel a lot for my old job and I don't miss that one bit.
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Take the 11:30 pm flight from NYC to London. It's only like 6 hours and you should be tired by time you geton the plane anyways; take one Tylenol PM and try to sleep as soon as you take off. You'll probably wake up as the plane is landing and the entire voyage will be over. I did that last time and it was great.
 
Crambone, Bonine is a good option if you tend to get a bit air sick. Not as rough on your body as Dramamine, and doesn't make you as drowsy.
I get motion sick a lot, so my suggestions to reduce it are: 1) sit closer to the wings. Much less turbulence. 2) Size matters. The bigger the plane, the less noticeable the bumpiness. 3) Drink lots of ginger ale in the 24 hours before you fly. It'll help settle your stomach.
 
join the 1 mile club, and you will forget any sickness. In fact the motion will be desirable.
 
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