My perspective - Always playing catch up

Details

Published on Thursday, April 2, 2015

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

The Neepawa Banner

On March 24, 150 people died when an airplane en route to Düsseldorf from Barcelona crashed into the French alps. Shortly after the crash, investigators recovered the black box from the Germanwings plane and the recordings indicated that the plane was purposely crashed by the co-pilot. Investigators have said that the cockpit recordings clearly show that the pilot had been locked out of the cabin– he could be heard pounding on the door and yelling “Open the damn door!”.

As of Sunday, details about the co-pilot are still being uncovered, but it would appear that he was dealing with health-related issues. The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag quoted a senior investigator saying that the 27-year-old “was treated by several neurologists and psychiatrists”, and that they had found a number of medications in his apartment.

Another German newspaper, Bild am Sonntag, said that investigators had found evidence that the co-pilot had a detached retina. Investigators also found a torn up sick note in the co-pilot’s apartment that would have excused him from work the day of the crash. At this point, the nature of his “illness” hasn’t been released but some have speculated that he feared losing his eyesight and with it, the ability to work as a pilot.

If this had happened 15 years ago, the outcome would not likely have been as tragic. Fifteen years ago, the pilot would have been able to force his way into the cockpit. But last week, the pilot was locked out because of changes in policy made following 9-11. Before terrorists hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001 cockpit doors weren’t secured. They were flimsy. They were weak enough that the hijackers could overpower the crew and gain control of the airplanes. In the wake of 9-11, cockpit doors were reinforced with Kevlar and required to be locked and bolted whenever the cabin door was shut. Air Marshals were posted near the flight deck and passengers weren’t allowed to congregate nearby.

This year, the very changes that were meant to protect passengers and make airline travel safer resulted in the death of 150 people.

Following last week’s crash, it took less than a day for airlines to change their policies. Most now require that two crew members be in the cabin at all times. It was a move designed to protect passengers and help prevent another crash. And so it goes, we are always playing catch up.

After each disaster, or near disaster, the airline industry makes sweeping changes. But they are always reactive changes.

Even without Kevlar reinforced cockpits, I don’t think anyone would try to pull off another 9-11. On that day, the hijackers held the element of surprise– no one expected that the planes would be turned into giant bombs and used to attack the American public. That changed once people knew the possible outcome. United Airlines flight 93 was hijacked as part of the Sept 11 attacks, but the passengers and crew were in contact with their families and heard about the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. They fought the hijackers and though the plane crashed, killing all on board, it did so in a field in Pennsylvania, inflicting minimal damage.

In December 2001, a terrorist unsuccessfully tried to blow up a plane with a bomb hidden in his shoes. In the wake of that incident, passengers undergoing pre-flight screening were required to remove their shoes.

In 2006, an al-Qaeda plot was uncovered that aimed to detonate bombs on 10 airplanes headed from the United Kingdom to North America. The plan called for the use of liquid explosives and it is because of this plan that you can no longer bring your own bottled water through airport security.

In the days and weeks following the Germanwings crash, we can rest assured that there will be changes aimed at protecting the public. But like 9-11, I think that we are unlikely to see another plane attacked in the same way, we are no longer naive. We never know which reactive change will have a negative consequence down the road. For us to truly remain safe, we need to stop acting reactively, we need to start thinking, and acting, proactively. Those hoping to inflict destruction aren’t typically “in the box” thinkers.