TonyK
Global Moderator
Hero Member
Posts: 6594
The artist formerly known as Four Track, Now!
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« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2015, 00:06:47 » |
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This is a tragedy and a disaster, and quite possibly the worst case of homicide by a single person in modern times.
No air incident ever happens because of one cause alone. There may be people registered with this forum who suffer clinical depression (what is non-clinical depression?), most of whom would not wish to harm themselves, let alone take anyone else with them.
If it does indeed turn out that the co-pilot deliberately flew the aircraft into a mountain, and the early published evidence points that way, then this looks like more than depression and more towards an acute psychotic episode, triggered by what? we don't know. But contributing to that are the other facts - a co-pilot was left alone in a locked flight deck, despite having only 600 hours flying time, and the pilot could not regain entry. That last factor is a direct result of the reaction to the 9/11 murders, and it will be a matter for statisticians to decide whether the measures introduced then have saved more lives than they have lost. Additionally, commercial pilots are examined for ability every 6 months, and for medical soundness every year, and constantly monitored without their knowledge in between. Flight crew are trained to monitor each other and report doubts, and in bigger airlines (BA» included) do not fly together routinely. A crew with vast experience may never have met each other before gathering in the briefing room before a flight, meaning they are less inclined to cover for each others' shortcomings if they have any. Commercial pilots are probably the most monitored and regulated profession in the world.
The first check before any flight - A380 from Heathrow to Dubai or Piper Cherokee from Filton (in the olden days) to Kemble - is given the acronym "I'M SAFE". Am I affected in any way by Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, or Fatigue, and have I Eaten enough for the journey? A crew member hell-bent on self-destruction, and for whatever reason mindless as to the fate of the other occupants of the aircraft, is hardly likely to declare himself unfit to fly. Just as I did not on at least one occasion when I was not sufficiently rested to take the controls, but managed alright, as we have all done in a car at times. The system whereby an airline pilot is tested to the limits annually, but there is no mechanism to make sure that he does not hand in medical certificates unless he wants to, is likely to come under the spotlight, but only briefly.
We have heard that the pilot concerned took time out of his jet flying training to deal with mental health issues, but returned to complete his course. I am sure that would have been after the most rigorous examination and evaluation, but nothing can filter out every problem. I was diagnosed with cancer 13 years ago, luckily a good one. The doctor showed me X-rays, CT scans, blood tests, biopsy results, the lot - all showed this awful life-threatening illness gaining ground. I had surgery, chemotherapy then radiotherapy, then more X-rays, CT scans, and blood tests. They showed it had gone, and subsequent tests confirmed it hadn't returned. If only you could do that process in a mind. In the meantime, I would hope that a diagnosis of depression at some time in a person's life would not debar them from any particular career.
The illness should not be the deciding factor. The management of that illness and the effect on the person's ability to perform their function should be the yardstick. The higher the risk involved, the greater the scrutiny, but let us not write off people who have suffered depression from what could be a huge swathe of professions.
FTR▸ , I do not suffer depression, so far as I am aware. I see a lot of people who either do, or claim to do so, or have been told they do when they don't, or have been told that they don't when they do. I can't easily tell them apart, so leave it to the experts. They either know best, or can be sued.
An Airbus takes off or lands every 2 seconds somewhere in the world. Whilst it does, 3000 Boeing 737s are in the air. "Suicide by plane" is not a singular incident - there are at least 12 in the last 2 decades, including possibly MH370 - it's just that none have been major airliners in Europe.
The agony being felt by relatives cannot be imagined. I am due to go on holiday soon with my wife, our three children, and all of our grandchildren. I do not spend time thinking about the possible consequences, but three generations of at least one family died in that crash.
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