COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - The Germanwings plane crash has spurred European airlines to implement stringent cockpit rules widely followed in the U.S., after it emerged a lone co-pilot forced the plane into its fatal descent, reports said on Thursday.
Airline passengers are in a state of fear after a probe blamed Andreas Lubitz - the 27-year-old co-pilot of the Germanwings flight - for wantonly causing the crash, after he grabbed the chance to lock himself in the cockpit when the pilot had gone to the lavatory.
That has stirred airlines in Canada and Europe into incorporating a U.S. rule that a commercial pilot just can't be left alone in the cockpit.
Four airliners, including EasyJet and Norwegian Air Shuttle, are reported to have announced they would implement the new cockpit rules, Bloomberg said.
Air Canada would implement the change without delay, while the U.K.'s EasyJet Plc will adopt the standard Friday.
While it is piquant that the absence of such a measure gave the co-pilot the chance to commit the crash, it also provides a sense of security that now onwards such dastardly incidents do not recur.
Apparently, the Germanwings crash has infused a sense of urgency and stirred countries into action on a war footing. Worldover, it's up to an airline to decide whether to allow a pilot alone in the cockpit.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is mulling on adequate safety measures that need to be taken in light of the crash.
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority is reported to have asked airlines to consider implementing the policy that a cockpit have two people at all times. Air France is also reported to be toeing the line and has been in touch with EASA.
Germanwings parent Deutsche Lufthansa AG's rules allow the pilot or co-pilot to be alone on the cockpit for a short time, and that policy hasn't changed at the airline.
Air Berlin PLC said that as of Friday two staff members would always be in the cockpit even if the pilot or co-pilot stepped out. Ryanair Holdings PLC reportedly has such a policy.
The ill-fated Airbus A320, from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, began to descend from a high altitude after losing radio contact and crashed into the French alps on Tuesday morning, killing all 150 people on board.
Information from the black box cockpit voice recorder showed that the co-pilot did not say a word after the pilot left the cockpit. The pilot then speaks tries to contact the co-pilot over an interphone, but there is no response and only his breathing could be heard. The audio also has sounds of desperate passengers in their final moments.
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