Germanwings flight 4U-9525 crashes in France

[Achas Veachas]

Funny I mentioned them and now (yesterday, actually) flightradar24 has given evidence to the authorities showing the plane went into auto-descent to 100 feet via autopilot.

I was actually wondering, how could FlightRadar now the autopilot was set to 100 ft? The ADS-B broadcasts the autopilot settings?

[AsherO]

I was actually wondering, how could FlightRadar now the autopilot was set to 100 ft? The ADS-B broadcasts the autopilot settings?

No, but if they recorded a consistent pattern (dropping x feet every x minutes) then it would seem to be auto-pilot. The question is what the guy was doing/thinking at the time...

[Achas Veachas]

No, but if they recorded a consistent pattern (dropping x feet every x minutes) then it would seem to be auto-pilot. The question is what the guy was doing/thinking at the time...

But to know it was set to 100 ft? the plane crashed in terrain that was 2,000-6,000 ft...

[ual902]

I was actually wondering, how could FlightRadar now the autopilot was set to 100 ft? The ADS-B broadcasts the autopilot settings?

The "black box" orange box knows exactly what settings the A/P was set and changed too.

[Achas Veachas]

The "black box" orange box knows exactly what settings the A/P was set and changed too.

But they didn't find that one yet...

[Dan]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/index.html

What is a Dr's responsibility if they have a patient they think is too depressed to fly a plane?
Is he allowed to tell the employer? Does he have a duty to do so if he feels he'll put others at harm? Can he be sued for not doing so?

[lunatic]

Wow,  how terrible must that doctor feel now. Responsible for all the deaths

[AsherO]

But they didn't find that one yet...

FWIU they found the box but the memory card was missing (which sounds ridiculous BTW), please CMIIW.

[Achas Veachas]

FWIU they found the box but the memory card was missing (which sounds ridiculous BTW), please CMIIW.

Not so ridiculous if you consider it was smashed into a mountain at 700 MPH.

[ShlockDoc]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/index.html

What is a Dr's responsibility if they have a patient they think is too depressed to fly a plane?
Is he allowed to tell the employer? Does he have a duty to do so if he feels he'll put others at harm? Can he be sued for not doing so?

There are too many jurisdictions involved to have a comprehensive answer.     

[TimT]

Not so ridiculous if you consider it was smashed into a mountain at 700 MPH.

Isn't the whole point that it should withstand any crash ?

[Toasted]

Is the company legally liable for a deliberate act by one of its employees?

[Dan]

Is the company legally liable for a deliberate act by one of its employees?

If it was negligent in vetting the employee, sure.

[Achas Veachas]

Isn't the whole point that it should withstand any crash ?

That would be asking for a bit much...

From the Wikipedia article:

Currently, EUROCAE specifies that a recorder must be able to withstand an acceleration of 3400 g (33 km/s²) for 6.5 milliseconds. This is roughly equivalent to an impact velocity of 270 knots (310 mph) and a deceleration or crushing distance of 450 cm

I guess we should be thankful the voice recorded survived, albeit barely...

[eliteflyer]

If it was negligent in vetting the employee, sure.

I'm not a transport attorney, but I'm pretty sure the Montreal Convention and applicable regulatory framework provide for liability and compensation in the event of death or injury (in a fixed amount) even if negligence by the carrier is not shown. That's not to say that families couldnt alsp pursue a separate claim of negligence against the airline or its parent based on negligence.