Numerous airlines hastily changed their policies Thursday to require that two crew members be in the cockpit at all times, after the co-pilot of a Germanwings flight apparently deliberately crashed a plane, killing 150 people, after having locked out the captain.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for many years has required that at least two qualified crew members be in the cockpit throughout every flight. But that’s not the case in other parts of the world.
John Cox, chief executive of Safety Operating Systems, a Washington-based aviation safety consultant, said Tuesday’s crash in the French Alps would likely lead most airlines and national aviation authorities to follow suit…
Witness Scenes From the Plane Crash in the French Alps
Flowers are left in front of the monument in homage to the victims of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 in Le Vernet, southeastern France, March 27, 2015. Alberto Estevez—EPAGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pay respect to victims in front of the mountain where a Germanwings jetliner crashed in Le Vernet, France, March 25, 2015. Christophe Ena—APA search and rescue worker at the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps, above the town of Seyne-les-Alpes, southeastern France, March 25, 2015.Guillaume Horcajuelo—EPAHelicopters of the French gendarmerie and emergency services fly over Seyne-les-Alpes as they resume works to recover the bodies and the remains of the Airbus A320 that crashed the previous day in the Alps, March 25, 2015.Alberto Estevez—EPAFrench military personnel walk up the mountainside near Seyne, France on March 25, 2015.Peter Macdiarmid—Getty ImagesGendarmerie and French mountain rescue teams arrive near the site of the Germanwings plane crash near the French Alps on March 24, 2015Patrick Aventurier—Getty ImagesFrench emergency services workers and members of the French gendarmerie gather in Seyne, south-eastern France, on March 24, 2015, near the site where a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in the French Alps.Boris Horvat—AFP/Getty ImagesAn aerial photo shows what appears to be wreckage from the crash of a Germanwings plane in the French Alps, between Barcelona and Digne, March 24, 2015.Duclet Stephane—ZUMAPRESS.comRelatives of passengers of the Germanwings plane crashed in French Alps are seen at the Terminal 2 of the Barcelona El Prat airport on March 24, 2015 in Barcelona. David Ramos—Getty ImagesA worker from a Swissport, a Service Company who is handling for Germanwings airlines, works inside an office in the Barcelona airport, March 24, 2015. Emilio Morenatti—APPeople stand in front of candles and flowers placed in front of the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium in Haltern, Germany, March 24, 2015. Imago/Zumapress
