Flight security

Europe's New Co-Pilot Rule To Prevent Pilot Suicide Is Misguided, Experts Say

Seven months after a pilot apparently crashed an airliner into a mountainside, killing himself and 149 other people, experts said better support for pilots with mental health disorders would do more to reduce the risk of pilot suicide than requiring that two people be in the cockpit at all times

Investigators believe co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed Germanwings A320 in France on March 24, killing all 150 people onboard. Prosecutors found evidence that Lubitz suffered from depression, researched suicide methods and concealed illness from his employer.

A few days after the incident, European aviation safety authorities mandated that two people should be in the cockpit at all times, a rule that it will review after a year.