That Andreas Lubitz, until now blamed for deliberately smashing the flight 4U9525 with 150 people on board against the French Alps had a history of psychological problem has been confirmed. Based on the last minute records on one of the two black boxes, the expert conclusion is that the 27-year-old co-pilot did not respond to the repeated banging by pilot Patrick Sounheimer and repeated urgent radio calls for long eight minutes before the airline disaster. The co-pilot, though, was breathing normally, according to the sound recorded by the black box.
The man though is not disparaged by his neighbours in Spiessweiher, Montabaur in Germany; rather they would insist it is wrong to be judgmental on the basis of records of one black box. On recovery of the second and its voice analysis can one get an authentic picture. They go so far as to repudiate the Lufthansa flight school's judgment that the man was 'not fit to fly' at some point. For one and a half years, Lubitz received psychiatric treatment.
However high an opinion his neighbours may have about the co-pilot, the flight school's recommendation against his flying should not have been ignored. Why the Germanwings flight 4U9525 was left to his sole charge in the absence of the chief pilot is intriguing but more intriguing is the fact that such a man was recruited at all to assist the pilot. It is not unusual for a pilot to respond to nature's calls in lavatory on a flight and the pilot did exactly this on the route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. He was not supposed to have any inkling of what his co-pilot was after.
Was the only man in the cockpit waiting for such a chance or he just gave in to his impulse when he discovered himself alone there? This cannot perhaps be answered with certainty particularly when the black boxes of a plane do not record such intention or any other intention. Had he spoken to the banging on the cockpit door, his words would have given an indication to his ill intention. But he did not utter a word, as the black box has confirmed.
Then the man has been cleared of any charge relating to his involvement in any underground political organisation or his sympathy for militants abroad. If this is so, what he did, did on his own. Unless he is deranged, he cannot commit such a crime where 149 people's lives other than his own are involved. If he was determined to end his own life, he did not have to choose self annihilation like this where he would be responsible for murdering 149 people along with him. In that case, his monstrosity is more menacing than the Al Qaeda pilots who ran the planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre and the CIA headquarters.
When megalomaniac minds like this do not betray the slightest signs but are in charge of affairs involving many people's lives, the situation is more dangerous than those involving the terrorists. In case of one, there is no suspicion and therefore the chances of paying heavy prices are high. In case of another, fear is at work and at least state organs have some preparations -no matter if such preparations prove most of the time inadequate - against sudden attacks by the terrorists.
Is civilisation heading for dissatisfaction at its worst so that some of the most disgruntled feel an irresistible urge to put an end to the flame called human life --one's own and all others' around? It is indeed a sick world, thanks to too much of technology, and it needs a treatment with nothing but simplicity therapy.
Murder by default or it\\\'s deliberate!
Neil Ray | Published: March 30, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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