On a Germanwings flight 9525 traveling from Barcelona, Spain to Dusseldorf , Germany, a 27-year old co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane by locking the captain out of the cabin- killing all 150 people on board. The co-pilot changed the planes altitude according to CNN news from 38,000 feet to 100 feet. There is a search for the second black box, which is the planes flight data recorder. This can help with what happened during the last few minutes on the plane.

The co-pilot only did 100 hours on the airplane he was flying. However, he was said to have the necessary qualifications and certifications. Health wise the co-pilot was good. He passed all the medical tests; he had no medical conditions. According to the New York Times, a security personnel described the scene of the wreckage, and the planes metal structures were smashed into many pieces. The victims on board were from about 18 different countries, there were 144 passengers and six crew members. Half of them were from Germany, and 35 were from Spain, this is according to CNN.com This is a tragedy that the victims family have to face. The youngest of the victims were only 15 years old.  They were German high school students.

It really is devastating what has happened. Despite the fact that the victims’ families will be getting $54,450 in insurance payments, it still won’t make up for what has happened to their loved ones.  There are a few questions that we must ask to ensure this does not happen again.  Should pilots be required to face greater screening for their mental health?  Should there be an additional member of the flight crew to monitor each pilot’s behavior?  The number one goal needs to be working toward stopping these types of events from ever occurring again.