March 24th, 2015: Co-pilot crashes plane into the mountains

Pilot-in-command says recent July 2022, intentional death of second-in-command near Raeford, NC, was a shock

On March 24th, 2015, a catastrophic event occurred that sent shockwaves around the world. Andreas Lubitz, a co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, deliberately flew the plane into the French Alps, resulting in the tragic deaths of all 150 people aboard.

The Germanwings Flight 9525 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Düsseldorf, Germany, that crashed on 24 March 2015. The plane, operated by Germanwings, a low-cost airline owned by the German airline Lufthansa, was carrying 144 passengers and six crew members.

During the flight, the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, locked the captain out of the cockpit and initiated the aircraft’s descent, which crashed into a mountainside in the French Alps. Investigators determined that the act was a premeditated murder-suicide on the part of Lubitz and that he had deliberately overridden commands from the pilot and air traffic control to abort the descent.

The crash site was located in the commune of Prads-Haute-Bléone, in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France. All 150 people aboard the flight were killed in the incident.

What caused the pilot to crash the Germanwing plane?

Upon investigation, it was revealed that Lubitz had been suffering from severe depression and suicidal thoughts and had kept this information from his employers. The incident sparked an international conversation about the issue of mental health and the need for tighter regulations on medical and mental health screenings for pilots.

This incident was one of at least 35 other cases of suicide by pilots since 1972, highlighting the need for improved mental health screening and support for pilots. Following the crash, an investigation was launched to determine the cause of the incident.

Mental health professionals have highlighted the importance of transparency in such matters. They have argued that employers should be made aware of any mental health issues their employees may face to ensure their passengers’ safety.

On the other hand, several have also argued that such a move could lead to a stigma attached to mental health issues, which could be detrimental to a person’s career prospects.

Watch the video below for a play-by-play of the final moments aboard Flight 9525

What happened to China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735?

China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was a domestic flight that crashed on August 15th, 2022, in the city of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The crash was caused by a deliberate action by the pilot, who investigators believe intentionally crashed the plane in a suicide attempt. All 59 passengers and crew members onboard perished in the crash.

The Chinese government’s investigation into the China Eastern Airlines flight crash discovered that the pilot had locked the cockpit door before the crash and disabled the aircraft’s communication systems.

This was seen as an isolated incident, as the pilot in question was suffering from mental health issues. In response to this incident, China Eastern Airlines has taken further steps to ensure the safety of their passengers by implementing additional safety protocols and increasing mental health screening for their pilots.

This includes more rigorous background checks and regular psychological evaluations for all of their pilots. Additionally, the airline has increased its training and safety protocols for pilots, including more frequent and extensive safety briefings. These measures are intended to ensure that all of China Eastern Airlines’ pilots are well-equipped to deal with any situation they may face while in the air.

Watch the video below for more detail on the crash of the Boeing 737 plane.

Has there been further research into suicide by plane?

The 2005 study, Suicide by Aircraft: A Comparative Analysis, highlighted the differences between aviation crashes caused by suicide and unintentional aviation accidents. The study found that pilot characteristics, crash circumstances, and outcomes of aviation crashes caused by suicide are all distinct from those caused by unintentional aviation accidents.

For example, pilots involved in aviation accidents caused by suicide were often found to have a higher rate of mental health conditions than those who were involved in unintentional aviation accidents.

Additionally, the study found that the circumstances of aviation crashes caused by suicide were typically more controlled and intentional than those caused by unintentional aviation accidents. Lastly, the outcomes of aviation crashes caused by suicide were often found to be more deadly than those caused by unintentional aviation accidents.

What was the most recent incident involving suicide by plane?

On July 29, 2022, a CASAC-212 Aviocar was involved in an accident near Raeford, North Carolina. The pilot-in-command (PIC) of the aircraft was not injured, but the second-in-command (SIC) sustained fatal injuries. After the aircraft lost a wheel, the PIC took over communications with air traffic control, and the SIC lowered the aircraft’s rear ramp to facilitate emergency response personnel access.

The first officer of CASA C-212 Aviocar is said to have been seen lowering the rear ramp and jumping out of the aircraft without any form of safety or protection. Witnesses reported that the first officer did not attempt to grab the bar above the ramp before making the jump, indicating that they did not intend to use a parachute.

Emergency medical personnel rushed to the scene to provide medical attention. However, due to the extent of the SIC’s injuries, they were unable to save the individual. The cause of the accident is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report on the July 29 fatal flight of CASA 212 N497CA has been released, which includes input from the still-unidentified pilot in command. The pilot was able to land the damaged skydiving aircraft after his copilot, 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks, exited via the aft ramp, falling to his death.

The report includes details such as the aircraft’s altitude, airspeed, and other pertinent information collected during the flight. Additionally, the report includes the pilot’s account of the events leading up to the tragic accident and his observations of the aircraft in the moments before the copilot exited. The NTSB’s full investigation into the accident is still ongoing.

Read the full report below.

References

[i] Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft-Assisted Pilot Suicides in the United States, 2003-2012 (Feb. 2014)

[ii] Germanwings, Final Report Accident on 24 March 2015 (Mar. 2016)

[iii] Harold Pinsky et al., Psychiatry and Fitness to Fly After Germanwings (Nov. 2019)

[iv] National Transportation Safety Board, Aviation Accident Preliminary Report CASA 212 (Jul. 2, 2022)