http://news.sky.com/story/1451536/no-survivors-expected-in-france-plane-crash

I'm beginning to think that giving up travelling the world for a living was a good idea.

My thoughts are with the relatives.

I don't know how old a plane should be before it is decommissioned, but in this particular tragedy the plane was 24/25 years old.

Planes much older than that are flying Margaret. (You'd be surprised how often they're re-painted to make them look 'new'.)

It largely depends on things like fatigue life of major components, and this will vary from aircraft to aircraft depending on how it's used and how it's flown. Once it becomes uneconomical to replace life expired items the aircraft ought be withdrawn from service. We used to change the wing spars on Shackletons to give them extended life, and the flying style of Vulcan 558 was changed to reduce the fatigue life being eaten up.

Well, this doesn't look good...

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/26/uk-france-crash-airbus-lufthansa-idUKKBN0MK0ZO20150326

A deliberate act!

On the surface it seems that the co-pilot was a well balanced , intelligent guy, but who knows any underlying troubles or even perhaps religious or political movements he may have been affiliated to. I daren't mention a certain kind of radicalized convert! Their modus operandi is these kind of shocking acts.
Germany has huge members of the religion of peace living in it.

Things are starting to get rather interesting...

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/uk-france-crash-airbus-lufthansa-idUKKBN0MK0ZO20150327

Hints of mental illness and more.

The whole thing is so ghastly and horrific. It looks like the co-pilot tried to cover up his mental illness , but why on earth take other people with him if he couldn't live with his personal problems. It looks to me like his actions were premeditated and waited for his moment when he was alone in the cockpit.

Several airlines are now making it a regulation that there are always two staff in the cockpit. I guess this will ruin Ryan Air's idea of only using one pilot?

As regards why take others with him? Well, we'll never know what was running through the tortured soul's mind.

RIP those poor people. I think this was an opportunistic moment. Lubitz had already flown one way that morning with the pilot and crew. He had to have had a sudden flash of his darkness emerge in his pysche as they flew over the area we now know he used to be gliding over with goodness knows what going through his mind then. In so doing it is likely he would have gone into auto pilot, shutting down his senses but tuning into the terrible mission he set out on. I'd like to think he didn't quantify the passengers and crew in human terms. He switched himself off. I'm all for ground control being able to take over if and when the cockpit fails. The technology is there but the cost to put it into every passenger plane is another thing. Two occupants on the flight deck at all times goes part way to a quick fix but what if one of them over powers the other? That plan needs rethinking for that reason. Look at MH370- there were two pilots on that flight deck. If ground control had been able to take control we could be looking at a more certain outcome.

[color="#0000FF"][quote="Gladys"]RIP those poor people. I think this was an opportunistic moment. Lubitz had already flown one way that morning with the pilot and crew. He had to have had a sudden flash of his darkness emerge in his pysche as they flew over the area we now know he used to be gliding over with goodness knows what going through his mind then.[quote] [/color]


I don't think this was a spur of the moment thing, it had to be premeditated, because of his negative health and psychological reports, he knew he would never realise his dream career of becoming a Captain status. I think the likely reason is that he did not get the opportunity to carry out his death mission on the first flight that morning because the Captain did not leave the cockpit, therefore he was not left alone on that flight.
It is also reported that he told his girlfriend that he was going to do something spectacular that the world will never forget his name or something to that effect. She found him chilling at times.
According to his doctor, Lubitz should not have been flying that day as he tore up his sick note and never gave it to his employer.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/11501075/Andreas-Lubitz-planned-spectacular-gesture-that-would-go-down-in-history-claims-ex-girlfriend.html



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Yes, Margaret, This is what I am saying. The ' opportunist ' moment I refer to was that he hadn't had the opportunity to do it before and had to wait for the Captain to vacate the flight deck which he hadn't until this 2nd flight that day. They are reporting from the flight recorder that conversations between them were with Lubitz trying to ' encourage ' the Captain to go for a 'comfort ' break.They haven't said if this is on the first flight or the doomed flight.