I know a guy who was training to be captain but going through divorce so told his doctor he needed time off work, a week or two of holiday. Doctor said that’s fine, you are a bit stressed out, take some time off. When he came back he was mysteriously removed from his training and career set back massively, had to find a new job. There are so many pressures and restrictions on pilots that their mental health suffers a lot.
737-800 down in China
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Soldato
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Doesn't wash with me this time. Why wait till near the end of the flight? And there were three pilots on that flight, not the two we've had in previous suicide crashes.
Caporegime
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Maybe there should be developed vetting for the industry now. A constant close monitoring of flight crew’s personal life and issues.
Stick your hand up and get your number called...
Some people can just snap at any moment. Doesn't have to be pre-planned.
Maybe the 3 pilots was the reason? Had to wait until an opportunity where 1 or 2 of the others left the cockpit?
Why wait till mid 30s to suicide when you can do it when your 15 and save on tax?
Soldato
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Isnt the point of having 3 pilots that one is never left alone though, which is what happened in the Swiss Alps incident?
Pretty much that. It wasn’t a sensible thing to do but he thought he was doing the right thing. Now imagine what someone who is really going through mental problems is thinking after this incident.
Is there something in the rules that says one isn't allowed to commit suicide at top of descent?
The trace clearly showed that an attempt was made to recover the aircraft at about 7,500ft - Perhaps one pilot was out of the flight deck and the other one tried to take control at that point but was overpowered again.
Soldato
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Yeah I agree its possible, just feels more unlikely to me that's all.
Are pilots screened through security like passengers are? Is it plausible that a physical overpowerment of a co-pilot occurred in the cockpit whilst one of them was locked out?
Possibly more likely that both co-pilots were out of the cockpit, presumably this is against the rules though as it negates part of the purpose of having three people.
I don't know. We do have some commercial pilots here though, this would be interesting to know.
That's what I think is most likely. It appears to have happened just around ToD so it's possible one nipped out for a wee before descent and the remaining pilot was overpowered by the other. Then perhaps a struggle occurred at 7,500ft where control was briefly regained.
I've not looked too much into this since it happened and I hadn't heard there were three pilots on board. I know that's common on long flights but this was relatively short.
Yes, they are. Quite often at airport security you'll see pilots and flight crew going through the same process as passengers (but usually in private queue or the fast-track queue)
Indeed dont take others with you
Do you think this actually works? People lie to mental health professionals all of the time, they lie about taking their medication, they lie about how they're feeling, there isn't some exact science to stopping this kind of thing.
Caporegime
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Do you understand what developed vetting is? It’s not just a couple of interviews, it’s a through investigation into health matters, personal issues, financial status. In the UK, once you agree to developed vetting, there is no barrier. They can even put you and your relatives under surveillance.
Soldato
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Yeah I agree this should be done. Issues tend to have been financial in the past haven't they? Would it work on a worldwide basis though that would be a nightmare to administer and require cooperation from more dodgy countries.
If the rules are properly followed and/or how well implemented and monitored - I find too many people, even in safety critical environments, etc. are extremely slack towards rules like this, until they actually are involved with an incident themselves after which they tend to go over the top the other way. So many see no problem with a short-sighted just a little breach of the rules when it suits them.
You have no idea how often I have to take people to account for blocking fire exits for instance, despite being clearly signed up and in some cases been told about it before.
So we just do this with pilots? About what Soliders, Armed Police, Train drivers, Bus drivers? The list goes on where people are in positions that they could easily hurt or kill multiple or large numbers of people.