Certainly a valid question.How about a mental exam once a year?
Here are a few suggestions...
Mental and physical exams required for all pilots by the licensing authority annually....
Require all Doctors to report to the airline's management or licensing authority when any pilot shows signs of any disease or condition that may adversely affect his ability to do his job.
Require two crew members in the cockpit at all times, Even a lowly flight attendant can open the cockpit door in time of trouble and get assistance from other members of the flight crew or even passengers, if necessary...
Dear Robadat:Here are a few suggestions...
Require two crew members in the cockpit at all times, Even a lowly flight attendant can open the cockpit door in time of trouble and get assistance from other members of the flight crew or even passengers, if necessary...
BASED ON THE MENTAL EXAM, ANYONE WITH ACCESS TO THE COCKPIT SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO THAT. EVEN THE AIR MARSHALLS. IT MAY SOUND REDUNDANT, BUT BAD PEOPLE DO BAD THINGS.
"Lowly" just a bad choice of word, I was referring to jls' comment about a little flight attendant. Even a smaller person could get assistance from others if the other crew member locks the two of them in the cockpit. The biggest problem in this flight seemed to be that the co-pilot locked everyone else out of the cockpit after he was left alone. I agree with the principle that the cockpit door should be locked to prevent some nutjob from attacking the flight crew, but there also needs to be a safeguard in place to prevent what happened in this incident. Best way to do that would be to ensure that no single person is left alone in the cockpit at any time. Most cost effective way to attain that is to allow all members to fill the second person role in the event one of the pilots needs to excuse themselves. Doesn't really need to be a pilot or air security person, all that's necessary is someone who is capable of opening the door from the inside in case of emergency.Dear Robadat:
I understand and agree with your first two points, but I don't fully comprehend the above-quoted point -- especially as pertaining to "lowly flight attendants" being able to open the cockpit door in time of trouble (and getting assistance from passengers).
Well, the point of having the cockpit door only being allowed to be opened from the inside was to prevent unauthorized persons from getting in. Having the pilot, or anyone else have the ability to enter without permission from the other crew member defeats that purpose. Would be terrorists only need to wait until the pilot or co-pilot leaves the cockpit and would be in a position to overcome that person to get his access card and entry into the cockpit.Pilots could carry key cards with them to open the doors.
Well, the point of having the cockpit door only being allowed to be opened from the inside was to prevent unauthorized persons from getting in. Having the pilot, or anyone else have the ability to enter without permission from the other crew member defeats that purpose. Would be terrorists only need to wait until the pilot or co-pilot leaves the cockpit and would be in a position to overcome that person to get his access card and entry into the cockpit.
Any security system is only as good as the people employing them, in this case the security system was used against the other members of the flight crew. There really is no 100% effective way to prevent this type of act outside of remotely taking over the plane's controls. I don't think the technology is there yet to do that without fears that the remote flight system could be 100% secure from being hacked.
Agreed. No person should allowed to be alone in the cockpit at any time."Lowly" just a bad choice of word, I was referring to jls' comment about a little flight attendant. Even a smaller person could get assistance from others if the other crew member locks the two of them in the cockpit. The biggest problem in this flight seemed to be that the co-pilot locked everyone else out of the cockpit after he was left alone. I agree with the principle that the cockpit door should be locked to prevent some nutjob from attacking the flight crew, but there also needs to be a safeguard in place to prevent what happened in this incident. Best way to do that would be to ensure that no single person is left alone in the cockpit at any time. Most cost effective way to attain that is to allow all members to fill the second person role in the event one of the pilots needs to excuse themselves. Doesn't really need to be a pilot or air security person, all that's necessary is someone who is capable of opening the door from the inside in case of emergency.