Originally Posted by
Silver Fox
It will be interesting to see if the French Mirage that was sent up shows anything. I think for me a red flag was raised when there was a delay on naming the pilots.
They didn't get there on time. ATC didn't issue the alert until only minutes before impact - there simply was no way that anyone could have got there.
In the event, they couldn't even locate the crash location, so they came home empty-handed, so to speak.
Originally Posted by
alanR
Why didn't the passengers notice the banging on the door, let alone the attempts to break through it?
when you're at the back of the plane, you won't see, or hear, what's going on at the other end. Presumably the curtain up front was drawn. As many media sources have speculated, it seems likely that only those in the front few rows would have become aware of what was happening, but with the increasing desperation at breaking down the door, it is likely that more people would have become aware of an issue up front.
Originally Posted by
alanR
Why was the co-pilot quiet throughout?
He didn't want to let the captain back in. He didn't want to comply with ATC commands. He didn't want to do what the other people wanted him to do.
Why would he speak to any of them, in those circumstances?
Originally Posted by
alanR
Would two in the cockpit stop suicide attempts?
Not necessarily. Though the person wishing to commit a crime might find it more difficult to do what they want, particularly if it requires some actual, active violence on a colleague.
Originally Posted by
alanR
What happens when the 2nd person kills the pilot in order to commit suicide?
That should be apparent.
Originally Posted by
alanR
Why isn't there any means of contacting ATC from the passenger cabin?
Because any such system could be tampered with/abused by those who are not authorised to use it.
Originally Posted by
alanR
Could there be a master override code held at the airline's office which can be used to override overrides?
It's a mechanical/electrical system on a door. And think about what you're asking. How would this have helped in this particular case? By the time anyone at HQ had been alerted that something was going on, the plane had already crashed.
So - should a team of Lufthansa employees be sitting in Frankfurt, monitoring doorlocks on each of the hundreds of aircraft in the air [not that that is even possible], checking to see if the cockpit occupant(s) have locked the door, and then instantly [on what basis? After enquiring with the pilot? The same pilot who is not responding to the more critical ATC requests?] decides to unlock? There is no way anyone on the ground could know enough details about what is happening on the ground to be able to make the decision that unlocking the cockpit door [and thereby letting anyone at all into the cockpit] is the correct course of action.
And if the door could so easily be overridden from a distant location - then, any would-be terrorists or hijackers would just have to get a colleague to hack into the plane and open the door for them.