38 replies to this topic

[camay2327]

They don't know the cause of this crash as of yet.

 

Germanwings flight crashes in French Alps; 150 feared dead

BREAKING Photo of the crash site of #Germanwings flight #4U9525 http://t.co/weSlrCWxRY http://t.co/wFg8KTSve2

 

• GERMANWINGS AIRBUS A320 CRASHES IN SOUTHERN FRENCH ALPS
• 144 PASSENGERS AND SIX CREW ON BOARD —ALL FEARED DEAD
• PASSENGER JET HAD BEEN TRAVELING FROM BARCELONA TO DUSSELDORF
• GERMANWINGS CEO: PLANE DESCENDED 31,000FT IN 8 MINUTES BEFORE CRASHING
• DEBRIS HAS BEEN LOCATED ON THE ALPS AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 6,500 FT 
• FLIGHT 4U9525 ISSUED EMERGENCY "7700" SQUAWK TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL BEFORE DESCENDING
• 16 GERMAN SCHOOLCHILDREN BELIEVED TO BE ON BOARD
• MAJORITY OF A320 PASSENGERS WERE SPANISH OR GERMAN
• WEATHER WAS CALM AT TIME OF CRASH AND THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN TURBULENCE
• CAPTAIN HAD FLIGHT EXPERIENCE OF MORE THAN 10 YEARS AND MORE THAN 6,000 FLIGHT HOURS

http://yahoonews.tum...ashes-in-french

 

[camay2327]

More...

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2...rash/index.html

[nomad]

Read one report that said there was debris 20 miles away, possibly from an in flight explosion or incident that may have caused the rapid descent.

[The Average Joe]

The descent was not that rapid. 2,000 feet per minute is not excessive by any means. I would doubt there was explosive decompression as that would require a much quicker descent.

 

A "standard" descent of 3 degrees at 550 mph (cruising speed) would result in a rate of descent of 2750 feet per minute.

 

I'm guessing foul play as no radio comms were received after the emergency was declared. Also, it was a "controlled" descent, but the plane did not turn to try to return the way it came. No known phone calls from panicked passengers either. Seems like we are having a lot of plane crashes lately....

[bordercolliefan]

I don't think it was foul play because this is not the type of flight terrorists would target--a little "local" hop from Spain to Germany in a budget airline. It seems like terrorists would target more notable flights like British Airways London to New York or American Airlines New York to San Francisco.

[camay2327]

It almost looks like suicide... But to early to tell....

[4thgenFolsomite]

They reached cruising altitude and after six minutes began a slow descent for 8 minutes until they crashed into the side of a mountain. Equipment failure?

[bordercolliefan]

I read an article recently that opined that a problem with modern planes--and the Airbus in particular--is that everything is handled by computer for the pilots. The pilots sometimes lack basic, old-fashioned aviation knowledge like how to read instruments or how to work the controls manually because everything is computer-controlled. If the computer goes haywire, they are at a loss.

The article was discussing (as I recall) an Air France flight that crashed some years ago. It seemed like the Airbus computer flying system had gone haywire, and the pilot essentially did the opposite with the throttle (?) and nose from what he should have been doing... causing the plane to crash. --Sorry I'm not a pilot, so I can't use the proper terminology, but the gist of it was that these ultra-computerized aircraft are allowing people to become pilots who lack basic practical aviation knowledge.

[nomad]

No distress call, at one of the safest points of any flight (post take-off, at altitude, good weather), then drops 38,000 feet in 8 minutes. Doesn't add up. 

 

It's amazing that we have had all these odd, unexplained crashes recently. Still haven't seen a reason for the AirAsia crash in Dec either although weather may have been the reason for that one.

[nomad]

CVR appears to tell that 1 pilot was locked out of the cockpit and was trying to get back in. Looking like the other guy decided to off himself and take 149 others with him.

 

The FDR will tell if he turned the Autopilot off and made some deliberate turns towards where the plane went down.

 

Just wow on this, how the heck do you prevent this from happening?!?

[4thgenFolsomite]

well, is it possible the door is always locked when the pilot leaves the cabin?  and what if the other remaining pilot then had a heart attack or passed out? 

[nomad]

CNN covered this with all the experts. There are 3 positions for the cabin door lock switch, all of which was added after 9/11 for cockpit security. There is a "Norm" position in the center. If you push the switch up it goes to "Unlock" but returns to the "Norm" position after. From this setting you can leave the cabin and use a keypad outside to re-enter without a problem. 

 

But there is also a downward position that is the "Lock" setting that basically locks the door so that no matter what happens on the outside you cannot unlock the door. It's unlikely they locked it while the one guy left. This seems like a purposeful event.

 

In the US you can never have 1 guy alone in the cockpit, another flight crew member sits up there until the other guy returns. European countries seem to not follow or enforce this rule and we get what we have today.

[4thgenFolsomite]

Have they identified the pilots yet?

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Have they identified the pilots yet?

Nope.

 

Edit: They're naming the co-pilot who crashed the plane as Andreas Lubitz.

[Rich_T]

In the US you can never have 1 guy alone in the cockpit, another flight crew member sits up there until the other guy returns. European countries seem to not follow or enforce this rule and we get what we have today.

 

A rogue pilot could just bump off the flight attendant behind the locked cockpit door.