Faithfully Yours - Making sense out of the nonsense
- Details
- Published on Sunday, April 5, 2015
By Neil Strohschein
Just when I thought I had seen and heard everything, an event took place that caught me totally off guard. I am still trying to make sense out of something that makes no sense at all.
At 9:53 a.m. March 24, Germanwings Flight 9525 took off from Barcelona, Spain en route to Dusseldorf, Germany. One hour later the plane crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 persons aboard. Frantic families, investigators and airline officials asked the same question—“What happened and why?” The answers (preliminary though they are) are quite shocking.
Investigators at the scene were quickly able to retrieve the Cockpit Voice Recorder. The data it revealed painted a chilling picture of the final minutes of Flight 9525.
Here’s what we know. The Captain (pilot) had left the cockpit to go to the washroom. The co-pilot, who has been identified as Andreas Lubitz, was asked to prepare the plane for its descent, final approach and landing in Dusseldorf. What happened next defies all explanation.
Here’s what’s been confirmed. The plane began a rapid descent shortly after the captain left the cockpit. The keypad that unlocks the cockpit door was disabled making it impossible for him to get back in and take control of the plane. Frantic calls from Air Traffic Control, other planes in the vicinity and members of the flight crew went unanswered. As to Lubitz’ condition, the CVR revealed that his breathing was normal and controlled through the entire event.
The CVR tells one half of the story. Investigators are still looking for the Flight Data Recorder. If it can be located and data from it can be retrieved, we will know if the plane (an Airbus A320) had any sudden mechanical problems. Then we’ll know everything that the airplane can tell us.
What we will never know is precisely why this tragedy took place.
People will speculate—and they already have. Much of the focus has been on Lubitz himself. He has been accused of deliberately crashing the plane and, as French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said: “all the signs are pointing in that direction.” The signs may be pointing in that direction now. But will they still be pointing that way two years from now when the final report of the investigation is complete? They may—but there is an equal chance that they may not.
How should we respond to tragedies such as this? Let me offer two suggestions.
First, we must avoid passing judgment on anyone until we know all the facts. The accusations being made against Lubitz are based on minute amounts of evidence. We need to allow those who are investigating this tragedy to complete their work and release their findings.
Their first priority is to recover and identify the victims’ bodies; after which they can be released to their families for funeral services and burial. Only then can they begin to sift through the piles of evidence collected to determine what happened and why.
Second, we must support the families of the victims; even though they live half a world away. We do this by offering prayers for them. The God we worship is an omnipresent God. He was there the day Flight 9525 went down. He knows exactly why this tragedy took place.
One day, he will tell us what he knows. Until then, let us pray that God will fill the families, friends and colleagues of those who died in this tragedy with his comfort and peace and that they will be surrounded by people who care.
