Germanwings (Photo : REUTERS/RALPH ORLOWSKI)
The cockpit of the Germanwings Flight 9525 aircraft was reportedly locked from the inside by the deranged co-pilot and would not let the pilot get in.
This was the scenario being analyzed by the experts through the black box of the said flight. The head pilot was trying to break inside but without anyluck. This possible scenario brought out speculations about how the plane crashed and has put the cockpit security protocols in the spotlight.
Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin disclosed that the details of the cockpit scenario were collected from the investigators. They found that the co-pilot was in control of the aircraft and was acting deliberately. On board were 150 passengers who went down in the crash. There were no survivors.
According to CNN, questions about cockpit security arise during the investigation. Is a co-pilot allowed to be alone in the cockpit flying solo? Are there other ways to get inside the cockpit when the cockpit door door was shut locked?
Aviation experts explained that an aircraft's cockpit door will always lock each time it shut closed. The pilot who needs to get inside can simply enter the lock code for the door to grant him access.
Scott Hamilton, an Aviation Analyst, explained that normally entering the lock code for the door would work however, if it does not it is possible that there is an "override thrown" which basically means a double lock, then no one can get back inside.
Hamilton stated that there is a switch in the control panel that operates the door's lock: lock, normal, unlock. A CCTV camera outside the door gives the pilots inside the cockpit an eye to see if it was his companion wanting to get in or not.
Reports stated that the pilot knocked lightly outside the door to get access but there was no answer. He hits the door stronger yet no response. He was literally trying to smash the door down but still no answer, according to CBS News.
When a pilot was being denied access back to the cockpit after entering his code, whoever was left inside was trying to keep him out.
"It would appear that someone has deliberately locked that door (on Flight 9525)," Hamilton added.
