Air New Zealand Joins Rest Of The World In Adopting 2-Person Cockpit Rule Amid Germanwings Crash

Air New Zealand has joined other airlines around the world in imposing a strict two-person cockpit rule amid fears that the co-pilot of the Germanwings aircraft deliberately crashed the aircraft into the French Alps. The flight commander was locked out of the cockpit when the plane began its tragic descent.

Capt. David Morgan, chief operations and safety officer of Air New Zealand, said the policy change required two crew members to be present at all times on the plane’s flight deck. If one of the two pilots operating the aircraft would need to leave the cockpit temporarily, another member of the crew should step in while the pilot is away.

Morgan said the new policy immediately took in effect in response to a review of the aviation safety regulations and the Germanwings plane crash. He added that the safety of passengers, crew and aircraft remain as immediate priorities. The policy change is expected to strengthen the company’s protocols and reduce the risk of one pilot being rendered incapacitated while flying the aircraft.

In May 2014, Air New Zealand had caused a scare when a co-pilot was locked out of the cockpit for two minutes on a flight between Australia’s Perth and New Zealand’s Auckland. The captain did not respond to calls to open the locked door.

This alarmed the crew but the co-pilot had found another way to enter the cockpit which Air New Zealand would not reveal for security reasons, reports New Zealand Herald. Both of the pilots were asked to stand down following the mid-air scare while the cabin crew was offered to undergo counselling.

Several airlines have also adopted the two-person rule inside the cockpit. The United States has been following the same practice before the Germanwings crash. Radio NZ said Airline companies in Canada, UK, Germany and Norway have promised to change their safety policies after sound recording revealed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz ignored his colleague’s demands to open the door to the cockpit.

Carstn Spohr, CEO of Germanwings parent company Lufthansa, said either the pilot had entered the incorrect code or the co-pilot inside the cockpit had overridden the command. The plane crash killed 150 passengers and crew believed to be from at least 15 countries. Most of the passengers who died were Germans and Spaniards.

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