GETTING WORSE AND WORSE – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  The media should be commended for good reporting on the Germanwings crash in the French Alps last week.  Not to be commended is European aviation, which apparently maintains safety and medical standards that are below what they should be.

Indeed, The New York Times has just run a piece reporting that Germans are questioning their assumptions about German precision and quality following revelations about practices at Germanwings, which is owned by Lufthansa.

And now this, from The Times:   

DÜSSELDORF, Germany — The co-pilot of the Germanwings jetliner that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday had been treated for “suicidal tendencies” before receiving his pilot’s license, the office of the German prosecutor in Düsseldorf said Monday.

The co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, had been treated by psychotherapists “over a long period of time,” the prosecutor’s office said, without providing precise dates. In follow-up visits to doctors since that time, the prosecutor said, “no signs of suicidal tendencies or outward aggression were documented.”

Mr. Lubitz’s medical records show no physical illnesses, the prosecutor said.

COMMENT:  It seems to me that no one treated for suicidal tendencies within a certain number of years of applying for pilot status should be allowed near the controls of an airliner. 

It's probable the airline knew nothing about the individual's prior psychiatric history.  That raises questions regarding the right of privacy versus the right of the public to be kept safe.  The public should win hands down.  This man took 150 people with him.  Yes, an applicant for pilot status can probably hide part of his medical history, but perhaps more robust medical and psychiatric exams by an airline itself would help solve this horrible problem.

March 30, 2015