Germanwings effect: project requires two crew members in the airplane cockpit.
"In this way, if one of the pilots has to leave the cockpit, another crew member would enter that space and could open the door if necessary," says Senator Cristovam Buarque (PDT-DF), author of the bill filed yesterday in the Senate; the objective is to prevent the recurrence of episodes like the crash of the German airliner, which, according to investigations, was intentionally caused by the co-pilot, who was alone in the cockpit.
Brasilia 247 – Following the accident involving a Germanwings aircraft, a bill has been introduced to mandate the continuous presence of at least two crew members in the cockpits of aircraft equipped with a separating door. The proposal, authored by Senator Cristovam Buarque (PDT-DF), was filed in the Federal Senate on Monday, June 6th, after the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) issued a similar recommendation to airlines on March 31st.
"It is necessary to make this permanent," said the senator, who argues that the legislation should incorporate the recommendation from ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency). The concern is to prevent episodes like the crash of the German airline's plane on the 24th in the French Alps from happening again. Investigations indicate that the co-pilot took advantage of the pilot's absence to go to the bathroom, locked himself in the cockpit, and deliberately crashed the aircraft, killing all 150 people on board.
Senator Cristovam Buarque's proposal modifies Law 7.183/1984, which regulates the practice of the aeronautical profession. The project is in line with measures adopted in several countries, in the sense of ensuring that there are always at least two crew members inside the cockpit. "In this way, if one of the pilots has to leave the cockpit, another crew member would enter that space and could open the door if necessary," says Buarque.