NEW YORK (AP) – Airline pilots are supposed to be the ones we trust.
They greet us at the door of the plane in their crisp, military-style uniforms, then welcome us aboard with that familiar soothing drawl over the PA system as we buckle ourselves in. When there’s turbulence, they offer reassurance. And when the plane safely touches down, they invite us to fly with them again.
Now, that feeling of security has taken a hit.
Investigators say the co-pilot of a Germanwings airliner locked the pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the jet in the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard.
“In the near term, pilots will be looked at with a bit more suspicion,” said former US Airways pilot John M. Cox, now CEO of the consulting firm Safety Operating Systems. “This rogue pilot is not the first one and sadly will not be the last one.”