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2nd LD Writethru: German airlines adopt new cockpit rules, others follow

Xinhua, March 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

German airlines have decided to introduce new cockpit rules following the Germanwings plane crash, the German Aviation Association BDL said on Friday.

"German airlines have adopted as a first step a new preliminary procedure that requires two authorized people to be in the cockpit of planes at all times," BDL said in a statement.

BDL spokesman Christine Kolmar told Xinhua that all BDL members, including the Lufthansa Group, would have to follow the new rules. In addition, several non-member airlines have also voiced willingness to introduce the new cockpit rules.

The decision was made after discussions between BDL members as well as with the German transport ministry and Germany's federal aviation office LBA, added the statement.

A total of 150 people lost their lives on Tuesday as a Germanwings passenger plane crashed in southern French Alps. Only the co-pilot was in the cockpit at the time.

The investigation into the crash of the flight 4U9525 reached an unexpected turning point on Thursday as an audio recording from the plane's black box showed that the German co-pilot appeared to deliberately crash the aircraft after locking the flight's captain out of the cockpit.

A number of other airlines, including Norwegian Air, Easyjet, Air Canada and Icelandair, have announced changes to cockpit procedures following the latest developments of the Germanwings tragedy probe.

German media Spiegel Online reported Friday that investigators had found evidence showing the co-pilot was mentally unsound. Heated discussions abounded after Duesseldorf prosecutors announced later that a sick-leave note prescribed by doctors was found in the co-pilot's home.

Kolmar told Xinhua that Germany's psychological testing system for pilots was comprehensive and there were currently no concrete plans to introduce separate psychological tests for pilots in addition to routine checks.

But she did not rule out the possibility of holding talks in the future over whether it was necessary to adopt new rules on the topic. Endit