Aviation World Seeking Answers to Germanwings Tragedy

The latest reports that the pilot was locked out of the cockpit of the ill-fated Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps, killing 150 passengers and crew on Tuesday, has brought authorities’ attention to the safety of cockpit doors on commercial planes.

According to recordings recovered from the Germanwings Airbus A320, one of the plane’s pilots may have been locked out of the flight deck, the New York Times reports.

Germanwings has not confirmed the claim.

“We have not yet been able to study and to establish an exact timing for all the sounds and words heard on this file,” BEA air incident investigation bureau director Remi Jouty was reported by France 24 as telling a news conference in Paris, earlier today. Adding that it was “a matter of days” before the first findings were released.

Meanwhile, as search teams continue to look for clues in the French Alps, a Marseille prosecutor leading the criminal investigation into the crash was scheduled to give a news conference earlier today after meeting with relatives of the crash victims.

En route to Dusseldorf, Germany, from Barcelona, Spain, budget carrier Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 nosedived into the French Alps. One of the theories into the causes of the crash speaks of rapid decompression that may have immobilized the flight crew. There was no “Mayday” call.

Protocols and standard safety procedures on board air carriers were tightened after the 9/11 attacks in New York.

According to the New York Times report, investigators are now looking into the identity of the pilots, why one of the pilots had left the cockpit, why the pilot who remained at the controls did not open the door and possible clues in the contents of the luggage.