So I
have been hesitant whether to publish this blog post or not. I am aware that
the topic is controversial and potentially sensitive for some and the last
thing I want to do is offend anyone. Despite this I have been thinking about
the Germanwings plane crash since the 24th of March and I felt the need to share my
opinions, as a flight attendant, with you all. Declaimer – Although we will never know exactly what occurred that day,
the following post is based on information I have gathered from numerous news
articles. All the opinions are my own.
The
last few years have been deeply saddening for the world of aviation. Since I
first applied to become an airhostess there have been a number of high-profile
plane crashes and incidents that shook the world. It began on the 8th
of March 2014 with the Malaysia Airline Flight 370 that disappeared over the
waters off Southeast Asia. To this day the whereabouts of the aircraft and the
239 people on board is unknown and with this there is huge speculation and a
number of theories about what occurred that day. Following this incident
another Malaysia Airline Flight, MH17, was shot down over Ukraine in July and
an AirAsia flight crashed into the Java Sea after trying to avoid weather. These
incidents were just few that have occurred since this time last year.
More
recently, Germanwings Flight 9525 has made headline news after Co-pilot Andreas
Lubitz intentionally crashed the aircraft into the French Alps. I wont go into
great detail about what supposedly happened on the aircraft as it is all over
the news and investigations are still being carried out. Instead I want to
share my thoughts about the tragic event.
I
first heard about the crash when I received a text message from my boyfriend
after I had finished working an early shift. As a flight attendant hearing the
news that a commercial aircraft has had a fatal crash makes my heart sink. The
following day at work, after a pre-flight briefing, the crew and I were
discussing what might have happened on Flight 9525. Decompression was mentioned
which would have meant, due to a lack of oxygen, the pilots could have become
unconscious causing the crash. This would have explained the loss of
communication between French radar and the aircraft. The idea of pilot suicide
did cross my mind but the thought of a pilot making the conscious decision to murder all
passengers and crew on board is much more heart breaking than a technical fault
or accident that could not have been predicted, in my opinion. As a member of
cabin crew, I have full faith in all of the pilots I work with and trust them completely
with my life. It is saddening to know that the crew members aboard the flight
that day must have felt the same way – including the Captain who left the
flight deck, trusting Lubitz to be in charge.
As
the days go on, more information about the incident is being revealed in the
news. Reports have emerged suggesting Lubitz may have been suffering from mental
health problems and officials say Lubitz had been hiding an illness from his
employer. Authorities said investigators found antidepressants and torn-up
medical leave notes, including for the day of the crash, in the co-pilots
apartment. Germanwings said it never received a sick-note from Lubitz. This
makes me hope for change. In light of this incident I would like to see medical
professionals personally contacting airlines if a member of crew comes to them
and are deemed unfit to fly (especially if the reason is due to mental illness
or depression). If the company had been contacted by the medical practice, the
awful events that lead to the death of 150 people may have been prevented. I am in no means blaming the doctors Lubitz
saw prior to the event. They were only following procedure and they could not have
predicted what was going to happen.
When
I first heard that the Captain was locked out of the flight deck by the
co-pilot, I was shocked to discover that Germanwings did not require at least
two people to be in the cockpit at all times. Since the incident other
companies including EasyJet and RyanAir have changed their procedures, as they
too did not have this rule in place. The sad truth is that we learn from our mistakes. Unfortunately, security and safety
procedures change in aviation when an accident has occurred and authorities do the best they can to prevent this happening again in the future. Take 9/11 for example – since that day back in 2001
aviation changed forever. It was that incident that saw reinforced flight
deck doors on every aircraft, US Federal Air Marshals onboard some flights and secondary barriers
for flight deck doors on long haul flights – These are just 3 changes but there were many more, all of which make flying much safer.
I
could write about aircraft accidents and incidents for hours but I would like
to finish this blog post on a more positive note. Although I have mostly
mentioned Andreas Lubitz, I would like to share my thoughts on the Captain and
Cabin Crew that day. Reports say the Captain, Patrick Sondenheimer, was heard
trying to break his way back into the flight deck to save everyone on board. He
was a married man, father of 2 young children and it has been said he moved
to the airline Germanwings in order to be closer to his family. According to CNN recordings from the black box are
heard of Sondenheimer pleading with the co-pilot “open the damn door!” The
recording also includes the sounds of loud metallic bangs that sound like
someone is trying to knock down the cockpit door. As details emerge, Patrick
Sondemheimer has been praised all over social media for his bravery and people
have hailed him as a hero. As a flight attendant I could only imagine what the
crew must have been going through in those last few moments – perhaps calming
passengers and helping Sondemheimer’s attempt to open the flight deck door. I have the upmost respect for everyone who tried to save that aircraft.
My heart
and condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims on Flight 9525.
May the 150 people on board rest in peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment