Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all! We have been experiencing an issue on site where threads have been missing the latest postings. The platform host Vanilla are working on this issue. A workaround that has been used by some is to navigate back from 1 to 10+ pages to re-sync the thread and this will then show the latest posts. Thanks, Mike.
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Germanwings Airbus A320 crash - Cyber Hijacking?

  • 24-03-2015 4:40pm
    #1
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭


    It has been suggested by a number of security and aviation experts that a terrorist cyber attack may have been responsible for the downing of MH370 last year. ie hacking into the aircraft's systems feeding it false data or interfering with the navigation software. They've even demonstrated experimentally that an Android phone can be used to access the avionics of a B777.

    http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/was-missing-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh370-hijacked-using-a-mobile-phone/story-fnizu68q-1226856570824
    http://www.ibtimes.com/new-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-cyber-hijack-theory-emerges-after-vulnerabilities-found-inflight

    Could such a cyber hijack event also be responsible for the crash of the A320 in southern France earlier today? Recently another A320 entered a nose dive but was successfully recovered by the pilots. Perhaps a failed attack or experimentation withe the technique?

    With physical security being so tight in aviation these days, perhaps well resourced terrorist organisations like ISIS and Al Qaeda are moving towards cyber attacks to down aircraft?

    It need not even be non state actors - Communist China has been making steady progress and ramping up their cyber warfare capabilities in recent years. Of course it's not clear what the Chinese would have to gain by downing civilian aircraft.

    Perhaps this is experimentation with the technique to prepare for larger scale attacks, downing perhaps tens or even many hundreds of planes simultaneously to plunge the west into chaos.


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 12 fig_roll


    "“It is possible for hackers, be they part of organised crime or with government backgrounds, to get into the main computer network of the plane through the in-flight, on-board entertainment system.”"


    No, no it;s not. They are entirely segregated systems.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭Chemical Byrne


    Are you an aviation expert if you don't mind me asking? The two experts in those articles are a senior secuirty advisor to the Home Office and an security consultant and former pilot.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,944 ✭✭✭Bigus


    fig_roll wrote: »
    "“It is possible for hackers, be they part of organised crime or with government backgrounds, to get into the main computer network of the plane through the in-flight, on-board entertainment system.”"


    No, no it;s not. They are entirely segregated systems.

    Absolutely , otherwise they wouldn't need to go searching for black boxes after accidents.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12 fig_roll


    Are you an aviation expert if you don't mind me asking? The two experts in those articles are a senior secuirty advisor to the Home Office and an security consultant and former pilot.

    The US Government regulations governing these systems would pretty much make it an impossibility for an aircraft that didn't have separate power and data systems for the IFE and avionics to meet the requirements and therefore make the aircraft impossible to sell as no airline code buy and fly them within US airspace.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,219 ✭✭✭Calina


    Okay.

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/13/faa_debunks_android_hijack_claim/
    The research by Hugo Teso involves testing with virtual aircraft in a lab environment, which is not analogous to certified aircraft and systems operating in regulated airspace

    and
    For more than 30 years now, the development of certifiable embedded software has been following strict guidance and best practices that include in particular robustness that is not present on ground-based simulation software.

    and

    http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-22107433
    Mr Teso built his simulator using spare parts from real jets for sale on the eBay auction site.

    Currently, I don't think you can stand over "it's been done" because it hasn't really been done.

    Secondly, the first of your reports refers to a whole pile of assertions by Dr Sally Leivesley but there is no supporting information in the relevant reports demonstrating that her hypothesis is in fact possible.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 821 ✭✭✭eatmyshorts


    It has been suggested by a number of security and aviation experts that a terrorist cyber attack may have been responsible for the downing of MH370 last year. ie hacking into the aircraft's systems feeding it false data or interfering with the navigation software. They've even demonstrated experimentally that an Android phone can be used to access the avionics of a B777.

    http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/was-missing-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh370-hijacked-using-a-mobile-phone/story-fnizu68q-1226856570824
    http://www.ibtimes.com/new-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-cyber-hijack-theory-emerges-after-vulnerabilities-found-inflight

    Could such a cyber hijack event also be responsible for the crash of the A320 in southern France earlier today? Recently another A320 entered a nose dive but was successfully recovered by the pilots. Perhaps a failed attack or experimentation withe the technique?

    With physical security being so tight in aviation these days, perhaps well resourced terrorist organisations like ISIS and Al Qaeda are moving towards cyber attacks to down aircraft?

    It need not even be non state actors - Communist China has been making steady progress and ramping up their cyber warfare capabilities in recent years. Of course it's not clear what the Chinese would have to gain by downing civilian aircraft.

    Perhaps this is experimentation with the technique to prepare for larger scale attacks, downing perhaps tens or even many hundreds of planes simultaneously to plunge the west into chaos.
    It was rubbish in the other forum, and its rubbish here too.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭Chemical Byrne


    Another instrument of the system I think....


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 821 ✭✭✭eatmyshorts


    Another instrument of the system I think....

    No....just 16 years and 10,500 hours of commercial jet experience. But hey, what would I know?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,751 ✭✭✭✭degrassinoel


    Before this gets out of hand, new posters to this forum should be aware of our forum charter. Let's keep it civil.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,513 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    Calina wrote: »
    Okay.

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/13/faa_debunks_android_hijack_claim/



    and



    and

    http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-22107433



    Currently, I don't think you can stand over "it's been done" because it hasn't really been done.

    Secondly, the first of your reports refers to a whole pile of assertions by Dr Sally Leivesley but there is no supporting information in the relevant reports demonstrating that her hypothesis is in fact possible.

    Leivesley is also not an aviation expert by any means


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,736 ✭✭✭ch750536


    As a software engineer that has very good connections to security experts it is safe to assume that no system is impenetrable.
    This was one of the older planes, 23yrs I believe. It takes 12 years to design and build a plane. So at the time the technology today was not even in infancy - it was generations behind.
    In the same way that I couldn't hack the wright brothers plane with technology this makes it unlikely.

    Any aircraft that is fly by wire can be physically hacked if you have access to it's cabling. Imagine just cutting the wire, a form of hacking. Take this further and see if you can use the wire to do something else.

    There would be parts of this aircraft that would be updated with newer tech. This could be the attack area. Often closed systems are not as closed as you think. The other lapse is normally things not deemed to be critical, so no need for security. Both can be utilised.

    Although it's true that aircraft systems are extremely well protected I think it's safe to say that with enough resource they are hackable. There hasn't been a open system yet that has withstood a serious attack other than pulling the plug.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,513 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    It has been suggested by a number of security and aviation experts that a terrorist cyber attack may have been responsible for the downing of MH370 last year. ie hacking into the aircraft's systems feeding it false data or interfering with the navigation software. They've even demonstrated experimentally that an Android phone can be used to access the avionics of a B777.

    http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/was-missing-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh370-hijacked-using-a-mobile-phone/story-fnizu68q-1226856570824
    http://www.ibtimes.com/new-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-cyber-hijack-theory-emerges-after-vulnerabilities-found-inflight

    Could such a cyber hijack event also be responsible for the crash of the A320 in southern France earlier today? Recently another A320 entered a nose dive but was successfully recovered by the pilots. Perhaps a failed attack or experimentation withe the technique?

    With physical security being so tight in aviation these days, perhaps well resourced terrorist organisations like ISIS and Al Qaeda are moving towards cyber attacks to down aircraft?

    It need not even be non state actors - Communist China has been making steady progress and ramping up their cyber warfare capabilities in recent years. Of course it's not clear what the Chinese would have to gain by downing civilian aircraft.

    Perhaps this is experimentation with the technique to prepare for larger scale attacks, downing perhaps tens or even many hundreds of planes simultaneously to plunge the west into chaos.

    the second link dismisses what you are proposing.
    The described technique cannot engage or control the aircraft's autopilot system using the FMS or prevent a pilot from overriding the autopilot," the FAA said in a statement following Teso’s demonstration. "Therefore, a hacker cannot obtain 'full control of an aircraft' as the technology consultant has claimed.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,751 ✭✭✭✭degrassinoel


    I remember watching a film/documentary of blackbox recordings, One in particular was of a crash a few years back - the flight staff had no functional instruments shortly after takeoff or maybe even while attempting to land in bad weather. They were advised to climb and did so even though they had proximity alarms and automated warnings going off everywhere, they seemed to try absolutely everything including asking ATC where the hell they were and what should they do, climb, decend, hold, anything. ATC were as baffled as the crew were. In the end, the plane hit a mountain, no survivors afaik.

    The cause of the crash was determined to be a piece of tape left on the instrumentation equipment that made it give false readings. A simple mistake caused the plane to crash.

    Edit: this film is what i was talking about

    It(this theory) could be explained as something akin to what happened here, but until the flight recorder is found, we're all speculating - a commonality here in CT's.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 85,028 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Are you an aviation expert if you don't mind me asking? The two experts in those articles are a senior secuirty advisor to the Home Office and an security consultant and former pilot.

    My father is an Aeronautical Engineer. Got his degree from Embry Riddle in the late 70s and was a hoist operator for the Alaskan coast guard out of high school. He's been in the field for over 30 years and currently is part of the material review board at Boeing's final assembly facility in Charleston SC for the Dreamliner. This was his social media reaction:

    "The Germanwings crash site is one of the worst I've seen. To me it indicates a catastrophic breakup of the airframe structure in flight. Having said that, it was not a sudden disintegration at cruise altitude. Based on what I am hearing, it had to be some type of mechanical failure where the pilots were unable to control the aircraft descent. Possibilities are loss of a critical flight control surface such as the vertical stabilizer [rudder], [or] a computer malfunction, these are all fly by wire and the airbus onboard computer can override the pilot inputs - pilots may have tried fighting the computer [stabilization system] and lost the battle. They have recovered the flight data recorder. That is very good; but now they need to find the cockpit voice recorder to hear the captain and first officer'a last conversation. If there is no talk then it would be a rapid decompression without a chance to don the O2 masks. Very sad."


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,513 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    Overheal wrote: »
    My father is an Aeronautical Engineer. He's been in the field for 30 years and currently is part of the material review board at Boeing's final assembly facility in Charleston SC for the Dreamliner. This was his social media reaction:

    "The Germanwings crash site is one of the worst I've seen. To me it indicates a catastrophic breakup of the airframe structure in flight. Having said that, it was not a sudden disintegration at cruise altitude. Based on what I am hearing, it had to be some type of mechanical failure where the pilots were unable to control the aircraft descent. Possibilities are loss of a critical flight control surface such as the vertical stabilizer [rudder], [or] a computer malfunction, these are all fly by wire and te airbus onboard computer can override the pilot inputs - pilots may have tried fighting the computer [stabilization system] and lost the battle. They have recovered the flight data recorder. That is very good; but now they need to find the cockpit voice recorder to hear the captain and first officer'a last conversation. If there is no talk then it would be a rapid decompression without a chance to don the O2 masks. Very sad."

    was it not the CVR that was found?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,219 ✭✭✭Calina


    was it not the CVR that was found?

    Yes it was. So far.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 85,028 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Perhaps not. I personally haven't dove into the details of the tragedy but I don't think king dude would have gotten such a critical detail messed up in his analysis. Possible; unlikely.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,513 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    Overheal wrote: »
    Perhaps not. I personally haven't dove into the details of the tragedy but I don't think king dude would have gotten such a critical detail messed up in his analysis. Possible; unlikely.


    Defo the CVR. http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-32046257


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,219 ✭✭✭Calina


    Overheal wrote: »
    Perhaps not. I personally haven't dove into the details of the tragedy but I don't think king dude would have gotten such a critical detail messed up in his analysis. Possible; unlikely.

    The other point worth raising is that the debris site is comparatively small. This has been used to support the hypothesis that the plane did not break up in the air.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,513 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    Better link to the recovered CVR here. A bit battered but the right bits seem to be intact. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32046250


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 85,028 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    To clear up some engineering speak: "catastrophic" often means a failure that results in a complete failure of the total system. This doesn't necessarily mean that the fuselage snapped in half or something - even losing something small like a critical flight surface, if it caused a lead-on malfunction in the flight computer, could be labeled as catastrophic/cascading failure. That's what he means when he says that it was probably a catastrophic structure failure in flight but not a "disintegration"


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,584 ✭✭✭Reg'stoy


    Transponder was still transmitting it seems as the ATC controller was able to see the gradual loss of height. He could not contact them which considering they had some power might mean the crew were incapacitated for some reason.

    With fly by wire technology total electrical power failure is virtually impossible. Some systems might fail but for all electrical power to go well.... that truly falls into CT territory.

    Considering no PAN call was made, is indicative of either radio system failure, no change in squawk to reflect this though or complete and almost instant incapacity, would sudden depressuristion be quick enough. Should the aircraft have remained straight and level on autopilot like this one did.

    The flight path seems to suggest a 'controlled flight' into terrain and the weather seems to have been clear so it's not like the autopilot flew them into the ground without the crew noticing. Obvious CT here would be that one of the crew members did it deliberately.

    At least the blackbox and hopefully boxes might help shed light on what happened.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,586 ✭✭✭jaykay74


    Haven't seen the names of the pilots released yet. Is that unusual ?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,029 ✭✭✭shedweller


    Have a look at the thread in the aviation forum. Seems a pilot couldnt get back into the cockpit. Scary


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭Chemical Byrne


    Reg'stoy wrote: »
    ........Obvious CT here would be that one of the crew members did it deliberately.
    At least the blackbox and hopefully boxes might help shed light on what happened.

    Actually this morning it transpires that the CVR revealed that one of the pilots got up and left the cockpit for whatever reason, he was then locked out of the cockpit while the plane descended and could be heard kicking the door trying to break it down.
    Over on the main thread I was jeered at and called a crackpot conspiracy nutjob when I suggested the possibility of a rogue crew member. They will have to eat their words because I have been vindicated.
    It will be interesting to see what the background of this rogue crew member is, ISIS, Al Qaeda, Terra Lieure (the Catalan separatist terror group) etc. I hope the authorities find something in their home and question his family.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,219 ✭✭✭Calina


    Actually this morning it transpires that the CVR revealed that one of the pilots got up and left the cockpit for whatever reason, he was then locked out of the cockpit while the plane descended and could be heard kicking the door trying to break it down.
    Over on the main thread I was jeered at and called a crackpot conspiracy nutjob when I suggested the possibility of a rogue crew member. They will have to eat their words because I have been vindicated.
    It will be interesting to see what the background of this rogue crew member is, ISIS, Al Qaeda, Terra Lieure (the Catalan separatist terror group) etc. I hope the authorities find something in their home and question his family.

    Health related issue is also likely. You have not yet been vindicated.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,751 ✭✭✭✭degrassinoel


    Calina wrote: »
    Health related issue is also likely. You have not yet been vindicated.

    That was my initial thought this morning too, stroke or heart attack


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,561 ✭✭✭quad_red


    That was my initial thought this morning too, stroke or heart attack

    Some sort of expert (didn't catch name) on morning ireland claimed that there is a keypad into the cockpit that the crew have the code for. They have to wait 30 seconds then they have a 5 second window to enter the code to gain entry.

    The only way this wouldn't operate would be if the person remaining in the cockpit deliberately locked the cockpit down.

    Which would seem to rule out a heart attack etc. and leave either mental breakdown or deliberate action?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,513 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    quad_red wrote: »
    Some sort of expert (didn't catch name) on morning ireland claimed that there is a keypad into the cockpit that the crew have the code for. They have to wait 30 seconds then they have a 5 second window to enter the code to gain entry.

    The only way this wouldn't operate would be if the person remaining in the cockpit deliberately locked the cockpit down.

    Which would seem to rule out a heart attack etc. and leave either mental breakdown or deliberate action?

    Possibly it could. But at the time that chemical byrne suggested the possibility of a rogue crew member the information on the door was not available. so no vindication at all.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,561 ✭✭✭quad_red


    quad_red wrote: »
    Some sort of expert (didn't catch name) on morning ireland claimed that there is a keypad into the cockpit that the crew have the code for. They have to wait 30 seconds then they have a 5 second window to enter the code to gain entry.

    The only way this wouldn't operate would be if the person remaining in the cockpit deliberately locked the cockpit down.

    Which would seem to rule out a heart attack etc. and leave either mental breakdown or deliberate action?

    Yeah, seems to be confirmed it was a deliberate action by the CP.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,751 ✭✭✭✭degrassinoel


    quad_red wrote: »
    Some sort of expert (didn't catch name) on morning ireland claimed that there is a keypad into the cockpit that the crew have the code for. They have to wait 30 seconds then they have a 5 second window to enter the code to gain entry.

    The only way this wouldn't operate would be if the person remaining in the cockpit deliberately locked the cockpit down.

    Which would seem to rule out a heart attack etc. and leave either mental breakdown or deliberate action?

    I've been hearing on rte that the plane took a shallow dive at full power and the pilot in the cockpit had been heard by ATC as "still breathing" which still leaves us in the dark on what really happened.

    Lot's of possibilities, but a fatal heart attack or stroke seem less likely if those reports/leaks are true


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,584 ✭✭✭Reg'stoy


    I've been hearing on rte that the plane took a shallow dive at full power and the pilot in the cockpit had been heard by ATC as "still breathing" which still leaves us in the dark on what really happened.

    Lot's of possibilities, but a fatal heart attack or stroke seem less likely if those reports/leaks are true

    The lack of the recital of any religious or ideological mantra particularly in the last moments, would lead me to believe that the co-pilot was acting by himself. Mental illness of some form or another hopefully will be the reason for his action, to think that he decided willfully to take all those poor people with him is just too horrible to comprehend.

    I would imagine that procedures will be amended to ensure that no person is left alone by themselves in cockpits. Be it an Air Marshal or another crew member, indeed we might see the return of the flight engineer so three and at a minimum two people will be in the cockpit at any one time.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,029 ✭✭✭shedweller


    This could help push the whole remote drone type flight computer into airliners. Pilots will have a lot to say about that but that is on the horizon for sure.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,751 ✭✭✭✭degrassinoel


    I cant imagine that being accepted very well, especially in CT's :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 85,028 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    It's already SOP on United States flights that the cockpit must be occupied by no fewer than 2 crew members at a time. If a pilot or copilot leaves the cockpit a flight attendant must be present.

    Europe does not - yet - have this rule.

    The pilot followed procedure, waiting for the plane to reach safe cruising altitude before leaving to use the lavatory. At that time investigators hypothesize that the co-pilot used the lockout system on the cockpit door to stop the pilot from overriding the door lock. It is a system in place on the cockpit door to stop an unauthorized person/hijacker from locking out the cockpit. Only crewmembers have knowledge of what the unlock and unlock-override codes actually are.

    http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/26/germanwings-flight-9525-co-pilot-appeared-to-want-to-destroy-the-plane-prosecutor-says


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,751 ✭✭✭✭degrassinoel


    Overheal wrote: »
    It's already SOP on United States flights that the cockpit must be occupied by no fewer than 2 crew members at a time. If a pilot or copilot leaves the cockpit a flight attendant must be present.

    Europe does not - yet - have this rule.

    As a whole no, but certain airlines do have it, Aer Lingus being one of them i believe.

    150 people dead and it's appearing like it's down to one guy wanting to kill himself. Cant even begin to imagine how terrifying it would have been aboard that plane - apparently the passengers screams were audible on the flight recorder


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,311 ✭✭✭Chemical Byrne


    I wonder will there be reprisals against this guys family. It would be wrong of course but it would be understandable how people might want to take out revenge against them.
    Between that and the media circus that will descend on them they might have to change names and go into something like witness protection.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,487 ✭✭✭Right Turn Clyde


    I wonder will there be reprisals against this guys family. It would be wrong of course but it would be understandable how people might want to take out revenge against them.
    Between that and the media circus that will descend on them they might have to change names and go into something like witness protection.

    No, that's not one bit understandable. Not even a little bit.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,584 ✭✭✭Reg'stoy


    No, that's not one bit understandable. Not even a little bit.

    Indeed one gentleman spoke very well last night on a BBC news report on expressing his sympathy for the co-pilots family and particularly his parents.

    Hopefully this whole tragedy will shine an even brighter light on mental health issues and remove the stigma of the 'mental' tag. The aviation industry and in particular budget airlines will have to look at the whole contract employment policies that currently exist. I know in one pretty famous budget airline, rates of pay differ along with sick leave arrangements and staff may be on short term but long term rolling contracts. We as a society tend not to care about the long hours of junior doctors in our A&E departments so will we worry that some contract pilots work two if not three jobs especially in the states.

    Now seeing as it's the CT forum, I've read else where that the medication he was on or not on depending on what forum you read were to blame and also that the plane was taken down deliberately to take out former work colleagues of Snowdon. I'm always slightly amused at those who complain about the behaviour of those on these drugs and not worried about their behaviour that led them to be placed on these medications in the first place. I'm particularly amused that the 'big pharma' industry according to some CT advocates, are deliberately releasing drugs that cause people to commit suicide or mass murders; bit like a fast food chain killing off their clientele by poisoning all their products. I don't understand why would a drugs company release a product that killed it's potential client base.

    Anyway as others have said, hopefully the panic was short term and the end was swift and painless.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,584 ✭✭✭Reg'stoy


    No, that's not one bit understandable. Not even a little bit.

    Indeed one gentleman spoke very well last night on a BBC news report on expressing his sympathy for the co-pilots family and particularly his parents.

    Hopefully this whole tragedy will shine an even brighter light on mental health issues and remove the stigma of the 'mental' tag. The aviation industry and in particular budget airlines will have to look at the whole contract employment policies that currently exist. I know in one pretty famous budget airline, rates of pay differ along with sick leave arrangements and staff may be on short term but long term rolling contracts. We as a society tend not to care about the long hours of junior doctors in our A&E departments so will we worry that some contract pilots work two if not three jobs especially in the states.

    Now seeing as it's the CT forum, I've read else where that the medication he was on or not on depending on what forum you read were to blame and also that the plane was taken down deliberately to take out former work colleagues of Snowdon. I'm always slightly amused at those who complain about the behaviour of those on these drugs and not worried about their behaviour that led them to be placed on these medications in the first place. I'm particularly amused that the 'big pharma' industry according to some CT advocates, are deliberately releasing drugs that cause people to commit suicide or mass murders; bit like a fast food chain killing off their clientele by poisoning all their products. I don't understand why would a drugs company release a product that killed it's potential client base.

    Anyway as others have said, hopefully the panic was short term and the end was swift and painless.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,080 ✭✭✭EoghanIRL


    Some conspiracy thoughts.

    People who are psychopaths want to hurt others but not themselves.
    People who are suicidal want to hurt themselves but not others.Would he not have just crashed the plane straight down using a nose dive into the ocean rather than a descent over several minutes? Or has this been done already with the malaysian missing plane and he wanted to be original by crashing it in a hard to reach location in the alpes.

    Second thing is the captains toilet break. Heard an expert on the Matt cooper show on Friday saying how his colleagues and himself never took a toilet break during the climb or straight away when you reach the desired altitude. He said it is normal to wait several minutes at least to make sure things are ok upon reaching altitude/ finishing the climb.
    Was a laxative used on the Pilot ?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 85,028 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    No, that's not one bit understandable. Not even a little bit.

    Understanding isn't necessary for it to still be a probability. There are plenty of irrational, angry fcuks in this world.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,019 ✭✭✭stuar


    Some fuel to the fire that the Germanwings flight could have been hacked by an outside force, Matt Anderson who some claim has "lost it" because of the below statement:

    344703.jpg

    Anybody doubting the above statement should look at these links:

    http://www.weathermodification.com/cloud-seeding-aerial.php

    http://www.wtwma.com

    http://www.weathermodification.com

    http://www.just-clouds.com/



    Germanwings Crash Could Actually Have Been The Work Of Hackers, Claims Aviation Expert.

    But Andersson, who is the president of Chicago-based Indigo Aerospace, points out that while assertions that the aircraft accelerated in its final descent may well be accurate: “It could be from any number of causes, including external electronic hacking into the aircraft’s control and navigation systems through malware or electromagnetic interception.”

    He adds: “This is one reason military and head-of-state aircraft are generally installed with specific shielding and additional active protective measures. Civilian aircraft are not.”
    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/04/09/germanwings-crash-could-engineered-hacker-claims-aviation-expert_n_7031748.html

    Germanwings: Could hackers have crashed the doomed passenger plane rather than co-pilot Andreas Lubitz?

    Aviation experts have controversially suggested that the plane's electronics could have been hacked before it crashed into the French Alps.
    "Both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) of the Germanwings flight 9525 have yet to be subject to international standards," he said.
    "Until they are, many broad assertions currently presented to the public may turn out to be erroneous, misleading or in some cases lead to improper or counterproductive regulatory and other reactions –including misplaced liability, financial and insurance claims."

    Mr Andersson isn't the only aviation expert to suggest the plane could have been the victim of hackers.

    Former commercial pilot Jay Rollins told US television channel MSNBC that it could have been a "hacking incident".

    "This aircraft is highly computerised," he said.

    "There's one possibility that no-one has brought up. I wonder – could this be a hacking incident?"
    Mr Rollins also compared the Germanwings disaster to the loss of a US drone over Iran in 2011, which was blamed on electronic hacking by some therorists.

    "Suddenly the aircraft starts responding to outside forces," he said.

    "If something like that were going on it would be very disturbing for the pilot."
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/germanwings-could-hackers-crashed-doomed-5483603


    http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.651159



    Another thing, voice recordings can easily be modified after the event, as can video, but with technology long available a live stream of audio and video could easily be broadcast from any aircraft with the addition of video being entered into black box's, something I think is long overdue.


  • Registered Users Posts: 242 ✭✭miss tickle


    stuar wrote: »
    Some fuel to the fire that the Germanwings flight could have been hacked by an outside force, Matt Anderson who some claim has "lost it" because of the below statement:

    344703.jpg

    Anybody doubting the above statement should look at these links:

    http://www.weathermodification.com/cloud-seeding-aerial.php

    http://www.wtwma.com

    http://www.weathermodification.com



    http://www.just-clouds.com/



    Germanwings Crash Could Actually Have Been The Work Of Hackers, Claims Aviation Expert.

    But Andersson, who is the president of Chicago-based Indigo Aerospace, points out that while assertions that the aircraft accelerated in its final descent may well be accurate: “It could be from any number of causes, including external electronic hacking into the aircraft’s control and navigation systems through malware or electromagnetic interception.”

    He adds: “This is one reason military and head-of-state aircraft are generally installed with specific shielding and additional active protective measures. Civilian aircraft are not.”
    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/04/09/germanwings-crash-could-engineered-hacker-claims-aviation-expert_n_7031748.html

    Germanwings: Could hackers have crashed the doomed passenger plane rather than co-pilot Andreas Lubitz?

    Aviation experts have controversially suggested that the plane's electronics could have been hacked before it crashed into the French Alps.
    "Both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) of the Germanwings flight 9525 have yet to be subject to international standards," he said.
    "Until they are, many broad assertions currently presented to the public may turn out to be erroneous, misleading or in some cases lead to improper or counterproductive regulatory and other reactions –including misplaced liability, financial and insurance claims."

    Mr Andersson isn't the only aviation expert to suggest the plane could have been the victim of hackers.

    Former commercial pilot Jay Rollins told US television channel MSNBC that it could have been a "hacking incident".

    "This aircraft is highly computerised," he said.

    "There's one possibility that no-one has brought up. I wonder – could this be a hacking incident?"
    Mr Rollins also compared the Germanwings disaster to the loss of a US drone over Iran in 2011, which was blamed on electronic hacking by some therorists.

    "Suddenly the aircraft starts responding to outside forces," he said.

    "If something like that were going on it would be very disturbing for the pilot."
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/germanwings-could-hackers-crashed-doomed-5483603


    http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.651159



    Another thing, voice recordings can easily be modified after the event, as can video, but with technology long available a live stream of audio and video could easily be broadcast from any aircraft with the addition of video being entered into black box's, something I think is long overdue.

    http://www.airbus.com/presscentre/pressreleases/press-release-detail/detail/honeywell-selected-for-a380-flight-management-system/

    http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/08/07/flight-control-boeings-uninterruptible-autopilot-system-drones-remote-hijacking/

    You may notice the link in the auto pilot system.


Advertisement