The Mystery of Missing Malaysia Airlines 370

[Sheilbh]

Yeah the GermanWings flight.

And there's a few other examples of planes being deliberately crashed by the pilot.

[mongers]

Murder-suicide isn't all that uncommon, and not sure how you can ask dead guys what motivated them in order to gain a general understanding of why they felt compelled to murder others in their act of suicide.

Murder suicides usually involve people the killer has a grudge against, or some sort of twisted love or relationship. They don't typically involve hundreds of unrelated victims.

Typically people who are about to take their life aren't acting at all rationally.

Though for a minority it appears to be a calculated rational response to a given set of circumstances.

[The Brain]

Bottom line is that in these investigations identifying the pilot as suicidal doesn't explain what happened. The investigation can't stop there if you want to know what caused the crash.

[Josquius]

Bottom line is that in these investigations identifying the pilot as suicidal doesn't explain what happened. The investigation can't stop there if you want to know what caused the crash.

It should move on from investigating the cause and onto how to stop it happening again.
As I said before; is there any logical reason why pilots should have a button to depressurise the plane?- honest question here. As I can't think of one based on my limited knowledge of planes. Seems its just giving them one more way to kill people.

[Tonitrus]

I would guess...that if a plane at altitude had some kind of breach in the fuselage, the recovery procedure would be to get people's masks on, depressurize the plane, and descend to a comfortable altitude as quickly as possible.

But really, I'm just talking out my ass.

[mongers]

I would guess...that if a plane at altitude had some kind of breach in the fuselage, the recovery procedure would be to get people's masks on, depressurize the plane, and descend to a comfortable altitude as quickly as possible.

But really, I'm just talking out my ass.

Hey, if anyone's gonna be talking out of their ass, it's going to be me. 

[Eddie Teach]

I would guess...that if a plane at altitude had some kind of breach in the fuselage, the recovery procedure would be to get people's masks on, depressurize the plane, and descend to a comfortable altitude as quickly as possible.

But really, I'm just talking out my ass.

Hey, if anyone's gonna be talking out of their ass, it's going to be me. 

Nah, Jim Carrey has dibs.

[Caliga]

Murder suicides usually involve people the killer has a grudge against, or some sort of twisted love or relationship. They don't typically involve hundreds of unrelated victims.

I was talking specifically about mass murder suicides, which as far as I know are often directed against random strangers.  See: the other pilot suicides already mentioned, the Las Vegas concert mass shooting, the guy who shot up that McDonald's in San Diego, the Luby's Cafeteria shooting in Texas, etc.

[alfred russel]

I kind of get it from the suicidal pilots point of view...Imagine your life is chaotic/falling apart and the one thing you love is flying massive jets with the considerable skill you have. There is something romantic about being the only one on a flight that is totally off the grid, and crashing yourself with the sunrise (a plane full of dead people that you killed is a bit creepy, but you can't have everything go your way in this world).

[Agelastus]

Bottom line is that in these investigations identifying the pilot as suicidal doesn't explain what happened. The investigation can't stop there if you want to know what caused the crash.

It should move on from investigating the cause and onto how to stop it happening again.
As I said before; is there any logical reason why pilots should have a button to depressurise the plane?- honest question here. As I can't think of one based on my limited knowledge of planes. Seems its just giving them one more way to kill people.

Quick research suggests that it is not a "button that can depressurise the plane" but rather a manual control system that can be used in case the automatic system is not functioning correctly and maintaining the pressure within the designated limits.

Edit: 30 seconds further research (ie., reading another answer further down the page) also suggests that the option is there in case there is a door malfunction (or warnings of one) where it is better to depressurise the plane manually than have the door blow and explosively decompress. Also, there's a suggestion that a fire in certain locations can be starved of oxygen by depressurising the plane.

[Sheilbh]

I kind of get it from the suicidal pilots point of view...Imagine your life is chaotic/falling apart and the one thing you love is flying massive jets with the considerable skill you have. There is something romantic about being the only one on a flight that is totally off the grid, and crashing yourself with the sunrise (a plane full of dead people that you killed is a bit creepy, but you can't have everything go your way in this world).

Yeah. And in the GermanWings case I think he'd developed a condition that meant he would have to stop flying which was something he really loved and that was another factor with his depression.

[Monoriu]

No pilot should be allowed to be inside the cockpit alone.  If one of the pilots needs to go to the washroom, somebody should sit next to him. 

In the long-run, AI should fly planes. 

[grumbler]

No pilot should be allowed to be inside the cockpit alone.  If one of the pilots needs to go to the washroom, somebody should sit next to him. 

Why would you want to have someone sit next to the copilot taking a dump in the bathroom?

[Monoriu]

No pilot should be allowed to be inside the cockpit alone.  If one of the pilots needs to go to the washroom, somebody should sit next to him. 

Why would you want to have someone sit next to the copilot taking a dump in the bathroom?

[Eddie Teach]

There's not enough room in an airplane restroom anyway.