Germanwings crash and pilots: Our view

The Editorial Board | USATODAY

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly identified the FedEx aircraft in a 1994 incident.

If the co-pilot of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday deliberately flew the jet into a deadly descent, as prosecutors assert, it would certainly be a rare event. But not nearly as rare as most people think.

This was the sixth time since 1982 that a commercial pilot has committed suicide by aircraft, taking planeloads of passengers with him — and that's a short count.

It doesn't include the mysterious disappearance last year of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which appears to have been flown off course. Nor does it count a troubled flight engineer's unsuccessful attempt to kill three pilots on a FedEx DC-10 in 1994.

The pattern has largely gone unnoticed, but it is striking, particularly in the similarities between the Germanwings crash and the ill-fated flight of EgyptAir 990 in 1999.

The EgyptAir jetliner was en route from New York to Cairo when the captain left the cockpit to go the bathroom, just as the Germanwings pilot did. Within seconds, the co-pilot disengaged the autopilot, pushed the yoke forward and took actions to bring the aircraft down, as he quietly repeated, "I rely on God."

The pilot rushed back in — unimpeded by the impregnable locks put on cockpit doors after 9/11 — and fought the co-pilot for control, too late. The Boeing 767 crashed into the ocean 60 miles off Nantucket, killing all 217 aboard. While Egypt blamed mechanical failure, U.S. investigators had no doubt: The crash was deliberate.

Similar tragedies have occurred in Indonesia, Japan, Morocco and Namibia.

Given the time span of three decades and the fact that 87,000 flights fly safely in the USA every day, that's not cause for alarm. But neither is it reason to look away. There are safety options to consider.

Reenforced cockpit doors, which can be securely locked from inside, are the most effective security measure since the Sept. 11 hijackings, but they backfired for Germanwings. The pilot, locked out by the co-pilot, could be heard banging furiously to get in as the jet descended.

U.S. rules requiring two people in the cockpit at all times might have prevented the crash. On Thursday, some international airlines adopted the procedure, and others would do well to follow.

And what about regular mental health assessments for pilots? Commercial pilots in the U.S. must undergo medical exams annually or, after 40, twice a year. Exams include a general look at their mental state, but no formal psychological assessment.

Pilots and crews clearly assess each other because their lives depend upon it. They may be in the best position to notice and report a mental health problem. Given the number of crashes, though, professional psychological assessments might be needed.

Suicide and mass murder, which is what really happened on Germanwings, aren't easily prevented. Just ask those who've groped for years to stop the endless succession of mass killings by deranged gunmen in America. You can't stop them all. But you can stop some.

The pattern of crashes repeated in the Alps on Tuesday argues that the threat is overdue for some attention.

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