The mystery surrounding the Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 seems to have unravelled finally.
As airline passengers across the world held their breaths, speculations were let loose and investigators unleashed to find causes and motives. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz's personal life and records were scrutinised extensively before a near-complete verdict was eventually reached:
Lubitz, who had suffered from depression in the past, 'destroyed the airliner deliberately', and the act may have something to do with what he told his girlfriend last year:
"One day I will do something that will change the whole system, and then all will know my name and remember it."
He hid his illness from the airline.
150 is a horrifically large number of innocent deaths to come to terms with. The mental trauma this tragedy has generated will affect millions of airline passengers across the world. I wouldn’t be surprised if passengers now insist on pilots' health checkups being put up in public domain.
Explore: Plane Truths
Simply put, a sacred trust has been breached; trust between pilot and co-pilot, trust between pilots and passengers, trust between people and commercial aviation companies.
How did it begin?
I still remember flying to Kenya when I was 13-14 years old and we were allowed to visit the cockpit. The captain explained to us some of the dials and described the terrain below.
At that time, we were flying over the Somali coastline. The view was beautiful. For me, it was a once in a lifetime experience that has been permanently etched in my memory.
If memory serves me right, there were no doors between the cockpit and passenger seats – only curtains.
All that changed after 9/11.
Aviation authorities turned the cockpit into a fortress; with bulletproof doors operated with switches replacing low-tech latches and traditional keys.
It all worked well for the larger part of the last 15 years, till Mr Lubitz exploited this caveat.
Training and Checkups
It is true that airline pilots are some of the most balanced people in the world. They are regularly trained and re-trained to take quick decisions under extreme pressure in split seconds. And yet, accidents happen.
Perhaps the health checkups for flying crew and cabin members need to be upgraded. Simply checking blood alcohol content and urine samples may not be enough.
The pilot's emotional stability should also be checked.
Also read: Three ways a plane’s disappearance changed Malaysia
Passengers would certainly want more assurances and better checks and safeguards from airline companies in this regard. Already, several airlines, including Lufthansa have announced they will now keep a minimum of two crew members in the cockpit at any given point in time.
Looking up to the future
From what I understand, piloting a plane on a clear sky with everything going fine is a very boring activity. How long can one enjoy the view – 10 minutes, half an hour or an hour at best? But to fly continuously for 6-7 hours requires immense concentration; lapses are bound to happen. As a species, we have only recently discovered the joys of driving and flying, and are not biologically programmed to do high-concentration activity for long, continuous periods of time.
So, is there a case to be made for automated piloting?
We are already using Automated Rail systems in cities, which carry hundreds of passengers. London's Docklands Light Railway is a good example of it (no driver, though a person does travel in the coach to operate the train in case of an emergency).
By and large, this completely automated machine has been successfully working for more than 10 years now.
Can the solution to human errors and fallibility be the removal of the human element?