German air controllers urge remote control of planes after crash

onnaedo

April 15, 2015 6:36 PM

It would be recalled that Lubitz had locked his captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the Germanwings plane into a French mountainside killing everyone onboard

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In the wake of the Germanwings crash which saw the co-pilot of the flight, Andreas Lubitz deliberately crash the plane, the German air traffic control authority has urged the aviation industry to develop technology that ground staff could use in an emergency to take remote command of a plane.

It would be recalled that Lubitz had locked his captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the Germanwings plane into a French mountainside on March 24, killing all 150 people onboard.

According to Klaus Dieter Scheurle, head of the Deutsche Flugsicherung air traffic control authority:

"We have to think past today's technology, such a system could be used in an emergency on the ground to take remote control of a passenger plane and safely land it. I wouldn't say it's the simplest solution though"

Pilots associations are however skeptical while the German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit said remote control could be open to abuse.

The British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) also urged caution saying:

"We must act with careful consideration to ensure new safety risks or concerns are not created, such as those raised by the vulnerability of any form of remote control of a passenger aircraft,"

onnaedo