Germanwings Passenger Jet Crashes In French Alps

True but you just used the fact "it is likely you and I will never even know anybody who knew somebody who died in a plane crash" - statistics that make you feel safe about airplanes. Most people != scratcho, who used the term "Only 90..." to describe his fatal accident, or really anyone else on here for that matter

 

Personally I care more about how the pilots feel than my fellow passengers. They have to kind of 'suck it' when it comes to unneccessary safety procedures to make them feel more safe. The facts DO matter. Perhaps not to them, but yeah... if some passengers shit their pants in advance because they're afraid of terrorists for example I wouldn't change the cockpit door policy for them. If most pilots do have a preference about the door policy.. more power to them I'd say.

 

Investigators have found a doctor's excuse indicating that Lubitz (the co-pilot) was "unfit to work" the day of the crash. It was torn up in the wastebasket in his apartment.

From what I'm reading he had flown on other days for which the doctor "excused" him from working.

Also, prescriptions were found that were not filled.

His parents admit he had an illness but that he was being "adequately" treated for it.

Apparently, he had hidden his illness from the airlines.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/
http://abcnews.go.com/International/germanwings-pilot-andreas-lubitz-hidden-illness-german-prosecutor/story?id=29946898
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/world/europe/germanwings-crash-andreas-lubitz.html

 

Not sure how German law differs from ours in this respect, but American pilots (even if you only fly a lowly Cessna) have to get an annual medical exam, and have the results forwarded to the FAA. My husband, who used to have a private pilot's license, says the exam is much more extensive than what the general public usually gets, and the normal doctor/patient confidentiality rule does not apply in any way.

 

The airlines says this pilot passed his medical exam with flying colors.

At this time, they aren't saying if his condition was medical or mental.

 

Sorry for the aside= Piaf asked me if the bad wreck was my fault. We were drag racing on a public highway. Brand new Plymouth (58)vs a 57 Chevy. My friend was driving the Chevy and I was the passenger in the front seat. Two boys were in the Plymouth. Oddly enough, the Chevy had sort of a granny gear and I suggested he use it when we began to race, so the Plymouth got in front of us. We were going over a hundred with the Plymouth slightly ahead. A truck and trailer saw us top a little rise over a canal and I suppose he misjudged our speed, because he pulled right into the intersection and blocked it. It was loaded with lumber and they hit first. We hit immediately after and left only 28 feet of skid marks before we hit. Out of 4 people in front seats=other 2 boys were killed, my friend was horribly injured for life----and me losing teeth and getting a bad whiplash. They called me Mr Lucky around town for a while. ------------------I still won't fly.
I haven't talked about this for a long while---so forgive the side track. CARRY ON.

 

We're so glad you survived, Scratcho.

 

Thank you Aeri. I have to agree!

 

Wow very lucky scratcho. Hopefully you learned to love life and not be that reckless ever again... Anyways that is an interesting update @Aerianne.

So becoming a pilot means losing patient doctor confidentiality? That doesn't seem right, can we verify this? If they're just referring to the annual physical which checks your bloodwork and general health, that seems ok requiring disclousre of any issues as a pre-requisite to getting your pilot's license

 

The FAA has a website, if you want to research the details of their requirements for a medical certificate. Hubby says when he had his last one a few years ago, there were some emotional health questions.

When you're on a plane, do you want your pilot to have the right to keep medical secrets from the FAA? I don't.

 

I don't even want the school bus driver to be able to keep their medical and mental health secret from the school transportation department.

 

Exactly. Their rights should never outweigh their potential victims' right to survive.

 

RIP :bigcry:

 

630 hours of experience? That's absurd. That guy shouldn't have been in the cockpit by himself.

I think the problem there is Germany's small military. They aren't producing enough retired military pilots to take the civilian airline jobs.

 

I was just talking about getting a pilots license. Flying a commercial airliner is totally different they should disclose

 

Commercial airline pilots obviously don't have the right to hide medical issues from their employer/the people who check this.
And why would german/european airlines depend on former military pilots? There seem to be enough pilots.

 

Flying lessons are very expensive, if you have to pay for your own, and want to go all the way to the highest level. In the US, the cost is quite outrageous just to fly tiny airplanes regularly, like a Cessna or Piper with four seats. Most of our commercial jet pilots got all their training in the military, for free.

 

It is expensive here too but it doesn't seem to keep people from wanting and becoming a commercial airline pilot. There are a lot, the companies can pick and choose to the extent they can fuck newer pilots over because 1) they have to start working in order to pay off pilot school, 2) they get payed less because they're new/inexperienced. I read some pilots even fly for free in the beginning as some form of internship to become an experienced pilot...
Anyway, seems that job market doesn't need retired military pilots!

 

I took PPL classes for free, attended municipal airport classes for free. know someone with a plane its free . its like the old saying its not what you know but who you know.. FAA has a site for free classes too. You must register with your real name and SSI -id #

 

I'm married to a former pilot and airplane owner who has spent his entire adult life in aviation, and you've read some stuff on the internet, so I'm sure you know a lot more about it than I do.

He can even tell the difference between former Navy and Air Force pilots by their flying styles. He always asks at the end of a commercial flight, to see if he guessed right. I haven't seen him miss one yet.

A certified flight instructor with a twin prop plane and unlimited gas money to give away? Yeah, those are a dime a dozen.

I got to steer a single engine Piper one time for a few minutes, but we had to pay half the fuel cost, which was something like $7 a gallon, and it burned a lot in an hour.

Not many flight instructors can afford to own a twin prop, which you have to master before you move up to jets.