The Crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 - Essay Example

The Crash of the GermanWings Flight 9525 Name: Student ID: Course: Date: Outline Format The Crash of GermanWings Flight 9525 1. Abstract. A. A summary of the paper. 2. Introduction. A. GermanWings Flight 9525 crash at the French Alps was intentional B. Alberta Lubitz intentionally caused the crash 3. The History of The GermanWings accident A. Date, time and place of the crash B. History of Alberta Lubitz is causing the accident. 4. The current status to identifying mentally ill Pilots and why it led to the Accident A. Pilots responsibility to their mental health B. Lack of efficient screening for psychological issues C. Germany Privacy culture 5. Improving the system to Prevent Future Accidents A. Systematic screening for mental problems. B. Depressed pilots treatment and cockpit members 6. Conclusion A. GermanWings Flight 9525 crash was intentional B. There is need to suggest ways to prevent another crash Abstract German Wings Flight 9525 was scheduled to transport passengers from Barcelona to Germany. On 24th March 2015 the plane crashed and killed 144 passengers and six members of the crew which occurred in a remote area of the French Alps. In such crisis, the organization needs to comprehend, react and take action. Transparency and frequent communication are necessary to reduce the pattern of the status quo. German Wings came up with strategies to communicate with its stakeholders when the crisis occurred. This paper narrates about the crisis, the strategies used currently and what could be done to prevent future accidents. Keywords: GermanWings Flight, Crisis response strategy, crisis communication. Introduction German wings GmbH was a profitable German airline based in Cologne and a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa. Cologne Bonn Airport, Stuttgart Airport, Berlin Tegel Airport, Dusseldorf Airport and Hamburg Airport were its main Hubs. In October 2015, there was a merger with Euro wings and since then it started to operate independently. One of its passenger flight, German Wings Flight 9525 (U9525/GWI18G) scheduled from El Prat airport in Barcelona to Dusseldorf Airport in Germany crashed. It is said to have moved faster and, therefore, reaching its speed limit. Minutes later it started to drop down until it was 2000 feet above the mountain where it lost its signal and crashed. According to GermanWings crash (2015), at the time of the accident, Andreas Lubitz the co-pilot was in charge of the flight. After the accident, the company had to answer to the stakeholders on what happened. This paper gives a detailed history of the crisis and strategies that can be implemented to avoid this disaster from happening. The history of the German wings Accident For a long The flight was owned by German airline Lufthansa On 24th March the aircraft crashed 100 kilometers North West of Nice in the French Alps. There was an air traffic control, and later the craft reached its allocated speed altitude. The plane took off around 10.01 A.M. Around 10:27 it dropped to approximately 11,500 meters which are 38,000 feet above the sea level. Five minutes later, it dropped to about 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) the plane continued falling. By 10:38 it was 4,000 meters down (13,300 feet) and over top the mountains. 3 minutes later it dropped to 2,000 meters which are a little more than 6,500 feet above sea level. Since the Alps are approximately 6,000 to 8,000 feet (2000 meters), it means that the crash site was 2 to 5 kilometers away from where it lost its signal. According to Flottau (2015), the crash was caused by a co- pilot named Andreas Lubitz. He had been previously treated for suicidal tendencies and declared unfit to work. He, however, failed to disclose these details to his employer and reported for duty. Before the crash, Lubitz had locked the pilot away from the cockpit therefore causing the aircraft to crash into a mountain. A total of 114 passengers and six members of the crew died. The current status to identify pilots with mental health issues and why it led to the Accident There are various reasons why the current situation to identify mental health problems resulted in the crash. First, the entire airline management, the dispatchers, and the supervisors do not see the pilots' often. The pilots individually are expected to be responsible, self-critical and manage their lives. Lufthansa did not know much about Mr. Lubitz condition and how long he had suffered from it. Research shows that Lubitz showed suicidal tendencies. He initiated a descent time he had been treated by psychotherapists before he earned his pilot's license. Reports by Maher (2015) furthermore indicate that there were no systematic responses or urgent warnings by government regulators and pilots to their experts who were not putting enough efforts to deal with mental health problems among flight crews. Lack of efficient screening for problems with psychology as a weakness that needed to be addressed especially with younger pilots was another reason. Reports by The Montreal- based group's 2012 Manual of Civil Aviation indicated a mismatch between the probability of young pilots being affected by mental problem instead of physical problems. Traditional medical examination tools were used to detect these problems. Another reason that necessitated to the crisis was Germans pervasive culture of privacy. Everyone's medical situation is their private matter; this has created a bias against looking into Mr. Lubitz condition since. Over time, this has blinded German airline regulators to problems that afflict their pilots. According to The German Federal Aviation Office, which is concerned with the licenses of the pilot, it relies on the countries nearly 500 licensed flight doctors to verify the fitness of the pilots to fly. The European Aviation Safety Agency (2015) discovered that Germans rules of data protection mean the information submitted by flight doctors to regulators is not detailed to allow officials to confirm findings by doctors. Reports indicated that Lubitz had suffered from depression before. Before the crisis, there are speculations that he plotted his own and passengers demise. He had researched ways of committing suicide and looked into security procedures of the cockpit. On the morning of March 24th, he had been scheduled to fly from Dusseldorf to Barcelona and come back. Upon his death, his iPad browser had opened files of airline disasters. The accident included the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and a Mozambique airline flight in the year 2013 where the captain intentionally crashed in Namibia. He killed himself, 27 passengers and five crew members. Having one crew member in the cockpit instead of two members paved more way for the accident to happen. Therefore, there was no one to reopen the turning door of a crew member returning as the pilot remaining was at the controls. In the past years, some pilots seemed to have intentionally crashed their aircraft. They were stopped by fellow crew members as they tried. Monitoring the pilots for psychological conditions, this will happen (Schel, 2015). How the system could be improved to prevent future accidents There is the need for a systematic screening for problems that dealt with psychological issues. Before traditional medical tools were used. However, this needed to change to modern medical devices since there is a higher chance of mental problems as opposed to physical problems. There is the need to curb the data protections rules and allow regulators have access to the pilot's medical conditions. The European Commission urged Germany to fix this among other issues that have been identified by the aviation safety agency. The proposed solutions reviewed in Brussels created a reaction in Berlin. Pilots found to be suffering from depression would be grounded during treatment (Dickey & Sederer, 2001). However, this does not disqualify the pilots from their duties. The agency would expect the pilots to submit their medical reports about the depression and in every six weeks submit to psychiatric evaluation. The pilot would then not be allowed to fly alone (GermanWings Crash, 2015). Security measures implemented after this attack intended to protect against outside threats, threats coming from inside could not be anticipated by the cockpit. Before the crash, Lufthansa had installed the armored cockpit doors which did not require that two crew members be in the cockpit at all times. Many airlines have implemented this policy. If either pilot visits the toilet or wants to have a stretch, the senior cabin crew member can take over. The point of this rule was not to protect rogue pilots but to ensure that there was someone available to reopen the locked doors for a crew member returning as the other was in control. Measures taken by European airlines today allow a lone pilot in the cockpit. Having cameras, allow pilots to check on the doors identity. The German wings crash recommended having two members of the cockpit during all times. Pilots screened to have psychological problems and try to crash the airplane intentionally, can be stopped by fellow crew members (Van et.al. 2016). According to Maher (2015), another measure taken is the ground control of flight-door access. Coded signals from the ground could unlock the deck doors of the flight. The benefit of having this is that if pilots do not respond to calls from the air traffic controllers due to foul play or anticipation, other members of the crew would be able to contact the flight deck. Another step that can benefit the aviation industry is having clean and convenient urine bottles in the cockpit. Reasons as to why the pilots leave the flight deck minimized. Records of flight data need to be improved. Pilots can disable recorders and develop ways for the plan to survive crashes and be developed even when the aircraft has crashed in profound waters. Conclusion From the essay discussed above, it is evident that GermanWings Flight 9525 crashed at the French Alps. The primary cause of the accident was the co-pilot who is said to have been suffering from depression before. He had been instructed t to resume work by his doctor, but he did. He committed suicide and killed 150 members among them 144 passengers and crew members. At the time of the accident Albert Lubitz was alone at the cockpit. The airplane lost its signals. Questions on the methods used by the German Aviation industry in ensuring that the pilots on duty were of sound mind were asked. In Germany, the pilots should be responsible for their health. However, after this crash, some suggestions were implemented to ensure that this does not happen again. First of all, there was a proposal by flight agents and regulators to have access to the medical conditions of the pilot. Pilots with mental problems offered help. Two members are to be at the cockpit; there were also suggestions to have cameras in the cockpit so that other crew members would be able to see what's happening. It is important to ensure that always suggested are different and implemented to avoid the same crash from happening. References Dickey, B., & Sederer, L. I. (2001). Improving mental health care: Commitment to quality. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Pub. European Aviation Safety Agency. (2005). Annual safety review. Köln: EASA. Flottau, J. (January 01, 2015). Revealing inputs: Germanwings crash raises questions about personalized pilot data analysis. Aviation Week & Space Technology, 11-24. Germanwings crash. (April 01, 2015). New Scientist, 226, 3015, 6. Maher, R. C. (January 01, 2015). Lending an Ear in the Courtroom: Forensic Acoustics. Acoustics Today, 11, 3, 22-29. Schel, K.P. (November 01, 2015). Traffic medicine and road safety in Germany. Journal of Local and Global Health Science, 2015, 2, 93. Schout, A. (January 01, 2011). Assessing the added value of an EU Agency for Aviation Safety. Journal of Public Policy, 31, 3, 363-384. Van, B. B., Zedginidze, A. A., & Light, P. A. (January 21, 2016). The Unfit Parent: Six Myths Concerning Dangerousness and Mental Illness. Family Court Review, 54, 1, 18-28. Read More