Concludes The Tragedy Was 'Deliberate And Planned'

The French BEA, which fulfills the same role in that country as the NTSB does in the U.S., has released its final report on the crash of a Germanwings A320 in the French Alps with 144 passengers and six crew on board.

The BEA concluded that the crash was caused by "the deliberate and planned action of the co-pilot who decided to commit suicide while alone in the cockpit.”  It further concludes that “no action could have been taken by the authorities and/or his employer to prevent him from flying on the day of the accident, because they were informed by neither the co-pilot himself, nor by anybody else, such as a physician, a colleague, or family member.”

Forbes reports that the report also raises significant questions about whether enough was done to assess the mental state of copilot Andreas Lubitz after the issue was discovered in 1999.

The report indicates that Lubitz had been issued a first class medical certificate in April 2008, but it was not reissued in early April 2009 because of his depression and medications he was taking to treat that condition.

But the conditional medical certificate was reissued later that month, and Lubitz was medically cleared to fly each year thereafter. His license at the time of the accident has a limitation calling for "specific regular medical examinations" which required an aeromedical examiner to "contact the license issuing authority before proceeding with a medical evaluation relating to any extension or renewal of the medical certificate.  This may involve medical history about which the AME must be informed before undertaking the evaluation.”

However, the report found that he had not been examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist during his medical certificate renewals after a waiver was granted in July 2009.

While that is consistent with regulations in the European Union, the report recommends that EASA devise specific protocols for follow-up examinations for pilots with documented psychological problems for "subsequent revalidations or renewals."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.bea.aero/en