Community Chat

[qualitygal]

Do pilots have to be checked out before they fly? I'm just asking, since I have no idea. I know weather is usually at fault, or mountains, but it makes me wonder. This was an airbus. Just curious, does anyone know?

[terrier3]

This really sounds bad...the plane was at cruising altitude...planes RARELY crash when cruising!

[Vamp]

I'm not an expert, but the one thing I do know is that it is too soon to know the cause. No one has all the information yet. They haven't given any reason to suspect pilot error.

Mechanics/electronics do sometimes fail; I would think weather and mountains would be more of a factor for plane crashes involving small planes and leisure pilots, not commercial pilots flying an airbus. That's just a guess though...

What do you mean, "do pilots need to be checked out"? Does you mean do they have ongoing training and tests? Or they have to take a drug test and a breathalyzer before getting in the cockpit? I'm not sure what you are asking, although I probably wouldn't know the answer anyway.

Whatever the cause, I am deeply saddened for the casualties and their families.

[Lila Belle]

This is such a tragedy.

My heart goes out to the families and friends of the passengers/crew.

[BellaPaprika]

What do you mean by "checked out"? If you mean well trained, yes, of course. Lufthansa pilots (the parent company of GermanWings) are among the best trained and monitored flight crews in the world. If you mean does someone check on their physical condition pre-flight, the co-pilot and the crew would notice if the pilot was not well. Awful stuff can happen in the air but, as we'll surely hear said today at some point, it's still the safest way to travel. Thousands upon thousands travel daily with no problems. Too early to tell what could have caused this and the experts have mentioned that it must be considered that it could be a criminal act. God rest their souls.

[Lila Belle]

I'm watching MSNBC and really haven't heard anything sinister mentioned. Just that there is a code that relays info of a hijacking as a cause of distress.

To speculate something criminal at this early stage is highly irresponsible, imo.

[BellaPaprika]

On 3/24/2015 Lila Belle said:

I'm watching MSNBC and really haven't heard anything sinister mentioned. Just that there is a code that relays info of a hijacking as a cause of distress.

To speculate something criminal at this early stage is highly irresponsible, imo.

It's not a case of "speculating". Much too early for that given that practically no facts are yet known. It was mentioned as one of 3 possible causes. The other two being pilot error and mechanical failure. All options are considered until each is ruled out by the physical evidence and cockpit recorders. It was simply mentioned as one of the possibilities.

[evelomaddict]

oh no, how horrific.

[evelomaddict]

"Officials said the plane issued a distress call at 0947 GMT (0547 ET), about 52 minutes after take-off. The accident happened in a snow-clad alpine area that is hard for rescue services to reach."

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/breaking-news-plane-with-148-on-board-crashes-in-french-alps/

[qualitygal]

My question is not a finger pointing thing. As passenger's we go through a "checking out". My question is simple. It's not related to the accident, in general, I wonder how they know the hours a pilot flies, so they don't fly exhausted. I would never presume to know what caused this or point a finger of blame at anyone. It's a horrible thing to happen, and it makes me feel very bad for all concerned. That's all.