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The Hindu
18-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
The mental health of pilots is the elephant in the room
Subsequent to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's release of its preliminary report of the accident involving an Air India Boeing 787 flight at Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, there has been a lot of debate on social media platforms and YouTube channels about pilot involvement. This has, in turn, led to further discussion on the sensitive topic of the mental health of pilots. While one should not indulge in speculation about the cause of the accident until the final report is published, there is no better time than now to examine this topic, which is, unfortunately, considered taboo. Though there have been at least 19 documented cases of pilot suicides, where pilots used aircraft to end their own lives and those of others, it was the Germanwings disaster (flight 9525 in March 2015) which served as a wake-up call about pilot mental health. In this accident, the investigation revealed that the captain had left the cockpit and the copilot used this time to fly the Airbus A320 into a mountain killing all 150 passengers on board. Factors in the life of a pilot Pilots, by nature, are a group of people who will not accept any form of human weakness willingly and will instead opt to bear the rough ride and hide their pain. Added to this are the consequences of any voluntary disclosure, which could mean the end of the pilot's career. In addition to the normal stressors that the general public are exposed to, there are other factors unique to the profession which place undue demands both on a pilot at the physiological level and the psychological level. In the course of their job, pilots are expected to 'sleep to order' in unfamiliar locations that are spread across various time zones. However, this is next to impossible and, obviously, results in long periods of wakefulness and sleep debt. Frequent changes in the roster also disturb a pilot's work-life balance, in turn affecting relationships with other members of the pilot's family. In addition, escalating training costs and stagnant salaries impose financial pressures. With the widespread use of social media, people in general are exposed to more depressing events. These affect all of us — pilots are also human beings and, therefore, not immune to it. The stress of modern living in cities also throws up its own set of challenges. How airline managements can help crew A study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, U.S. (which included Joseph G. Allen, Associate Professor of Exposure Assessment Science), titled 'Airplane pilot mental health and suicidal thoughts', conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study using an anonymous web-based survey. Analysis of the study showed that 12.6% of the pilots who answered the survey crossed the threshold of criteria for having depression, and an astonishing 4.1% said they considered suicide within the preceding two weeks. Airline operators can play a major role in alleviating the stress on aircrew. For example, there can be policies that allow pilots to proceed on paid leave when going through life-changing events such as divorce, the loss of a loved one, attending to a sick child or even taking care of a child who has learning difficulties. The majority of pilots have a high degree of resilience and it will only be a very small minority who may opt for leave citing such circumstances — this is not going to cause a dent in the finances of the company. A minor short-term issue can be prevented from escalating into a serious problem. Though there is no evidence that the captain of the Malaysian Airlines flight, MH370 (March 2014), committed suicide, it was reported that he had marital problems and was living a lonely life. Airlines should have very active peer support programmes that are managed solely by pilot groups. The social stigma associated with this should be removed and steps should be taken to improve the trust between aviation medical specialists and the pilots. Another very pragmatic approach is to permit pilots diagnosed with certain conditions to continue flying as long as they receive treatment. It is better to know and monitor than not knowing. A person could function very safely with aviation-approved medication and regular follow up. As the Federal Air Surgeon of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in 2022, 'Early treatment is a win-win: the person gets help more quickly; typically, the symptoms are less severe and obtaining a special issuance is more likely to be successful.' In the United States, the FAA has finally acknowledged that there is a problem and recently established a Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee which is expected to make major changes. Changes in the system India's regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), should adopt a very progressive attitude towards finding a solution. Requiring pilots to undergo detailed mental health tests will only be counterproductive and impose more mental burdens on the pilots. There are severe limitations in objectively assessing mental health and if the test is subjective without specific criteria, it will only open up more issues. People with mental health conditions might go without being diagnosed and others could be misdiagnosed. The most pragmatic solution will be to educate pilots to recognise signs of depression in their colleagues. Flight instructors can be an important link in this as they get to see the difficulties experienced by trainees much before other peers. The Union Ministry of Health should also enact legislation defining rules that require health-care providers to inform the appropriate authorities when a patient's health is very likely to impact public safety, while, at the same time, protecting the patient's personal/private data from unnecessary disclosure. While we may not be able to completely eliminate the risk, we can effectively manage the risks by a balanced approach and following best practices. Captain S. Sabu is an airline pilot and a member of the Flight Safety Foundation. The views expressed are personal
Miami Herald
14-07-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
World's first forensic jeweler IDs disaster zone victims through jewelry
By Elizabeth Hunter A former jewelry designer has become the world's first forensic jeweler, who IDs bodies in disaster zones through their rings, necklaces and earrings. Dr. Maria Maclennan, 36, analyzes victim's bracelets, gemstones, pendants and trinkets for clues to help emergency crews, investigators and families. She first studied jewelry design at the university, then realized she wanted to use her talents to help people instead. The Dundee-based forensic jeweler has since been drafted in to aid identification in disasters and mass fatalities around the world. She helped identify victims of the 2015 Tunisia terror attacks, worked on Grenfell, the Germanwings plane crash in France in 2015 and the Mozambican airliner disaster in Namibia in 2013. She's also helped ID the bodies of migrants lost in sea crossings. Maria says the "holy trinity of primary methods," teeth, fingerprint, DNA – are the still the foremost ways to establish who the bodies are. But she realized jewelry can hold vitals clues to discovering who a deceased person is - which can help remains be reunited with loved ones. Maria joined a project led by Interpol when she was a master's student at the University of Dundee. It was designed to improve practices around victim identification in disasters, which sparked her interest in the relationship between forensics and personal effects. She said: ''It was a project that was spearheaded by Interpol and a number of other international project partners, looking at how we could improve practices around disaster victim identification. "They were looking at the usual scientific method - DNA, fingerprinting, dental records - but they were also expanding into what we call secondary methods. "They were looking at clothing, personal effects, body modification, tattoos, and jewelry. "That was my background - I was a jewelry designer by trade. "A lot of pieces are very traceable. The might have some kind of mark, a serial number, a hallmark. "A lot are very personalized, they can connect to a manufacturer, a designer, a maker and we can trace something back to the place of purchase. "Distinctive pieces are recognized, they're memorable. Something that has been worn often or for a long time can be a physical repository for DNA. "They might have been gifted between family members - they might symbolize a very significant relationship, they may have been passed down through generations or they could be really important spiritual, religious or cultural items.'' She added: "I was never as interested in designing as a lot of my peers and colleagues. ''I didn't actually enjoy sitting down at the bench and designing and making quite as much as I did the research and studying. "It was all the stories, the histories, the meanings that I was interested in - why people wear jewelry, why they don't wear jewelry, when they decide to take it off or keep it with them, and what it symbolized. "I was living with a medical student, one of my friends, and there was probably a bit of me that saw her go off and thought 'she's really going to save lives and help people.' "As a jeweler, we design wedding and engagement or memorial pieces, and we really have to understand their personality, their identity and relationships. ''It's very much an important job - but the opportunity to get involved in that project made me think there could be some way to really improve or contribute to people's lives. "It really opened up my thinking to this whole new world that I hadn't really been exposed to before. "I loved the idea that I could use my skills and knowledge as a jewelry designer in this completely new way to really help people." Maria and her team worked on a jewelry classification system, which has since been incorporated into Interpol's current disaster victim identification practices. Maria, who has a PhD in Forensic Jewelry, said: "I was working mostly in forensic imaging, so any kind of visual evidence, whether that was photography, fingerprints, footwear, patterns, 360 panoramic views of scenes, and I was carrying on my own research alongside that. "I was starting to deploy to international incidents - aviation crashes mainly, but also natural disasters and terror incidents too. There was a lot of international mass fatality work. "Once I started doing the work, I realized that it wasn't just about studying these objects, analyzing them, trying to trace them, trying to identify people. "I think especially in the mass fatality context, where very sadly, many families and next of kin don't have a dedicated place to go to say goodbye, to visit. "They maybe don't always even receive the remains of their loved ones, they depending on the condition. Very sadly, it might not be possible to repatriate an entire body. "I think this is where it goes back to my initial training and love of jewelry, and all the personal stories and the sentimental value. "I actually drew quite a few parallels with the designing and making that we do in the jewelry world and the return and the repatriation of objects to next of kin, because these little objects, they're very often seen as an extension of us and of our identities, especially if they've got that really personal element. "To receive those back after often quite traumatic incidents and events really means a lot to the families, and that part of the process is not to be underestimated. "We try and treat the objects with the same amount of dignity and respect as we would the person themselves. "That includes everything - ensuring that the families have an opportunity to view the object. "They can choose whether they would like the items returned in their current state, even if they've been damaged or melted or burned, or whether they would like them to be repaired or fully reconstructed. "We give families that option, and we also try to put just as much care into how we package and gift those items. "The care that needs to go into that is just as much an important factor, because that's the first impression that families will often get - it's the first thing they'll see. "Also, many of them may not be quite ready to open that package and confront these items. "For many of them, they may choose to keep them in storage or only revisit them a number of months or years later, so we have to really think about that whole process." Maria has begun teaching - lecturing at Edinburgh College of Art, and traveling the world to train law enforcement and investigators based on her research. "Over the last few years, I've become more involved in training and upskilling law enforcement and investigative agencies on the value of jewelry and personal effects and trying to create practical, hands on training programs, things that will be useful for them in their day to day life," she said. "Most recently, I was over in Brazil, working with the Brazilian Federal Police and running a training program for them - they're kind of forensic gemologists. "They have quite a large criminal investigative department over in Brazil, because they deal a lot with gem crime and trafficking and smuggling of gemstones and other artifacts across borders. "I've developed a lot of training, and now being an educator myself, that's something I'm very passionate about, is trying to share the knowledge I've learned. "I still work on some live cases, but these days, it's more about kind of helping others to help themselves, rather than me doing the work personally." The project closest to her heart today is a humanitarian project called Identifying the Displaced, which seeks to use personal effects to identify people lost while migrating across the Aegean Sea. Maria and her team have recovered over 500 personal objects, belonging to migrants who lost their lives while attempting to cross the "River of Death," which has claimed the life of over 2,500 people between 2014 and 2024. "We're looking to try and study and analyze the objects, the jewelry, the personal effects that were carried with people on the move," she said. "Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as they make these journeys to try and gain entry into Europe, a lot of them, very sadly, lose their lives. "By collaborating with the local pathologists and people who work in that industry over in Greece, we've designed a database that we're trying to use to collaborate with different communities to raise more awareness of the migrant crisis, to hopefully generate new investigative insight around the objects.'' The post World's first forensic jeweler IDs disaster zone victims through jewelry appeared first on Talker. Copyright Talker News. All Rights Reserved.
Edinburgh Live
14-07-2025
- Science
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh lecturer becomes world's first forensic jeweller and is drafted in during mass fatalities
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A former jewellery designer has become the world's first forensic jeweller and IDs bodies in disaster zones through their rings, necklaces and earrings. Dr. Maria Maclennan, 36, first studied jewellery design at university then realised she wanted to use her talents to help people instead, now she analyses victim's bracelets, gemstones, pendants and trinkets for clues to help emergency crews, investigators and families. The Edinburgh College of Art lecturer has since been drafted in to aid identification in disasters and mass fatalities around the world. She helped identify victims of the 2015 Tunisia terror attacks, worked on Grenfell, the Germanwings plane crash in France in 2015 and the Mozambican airliner disaster in Namibia in 2013. She's also helped ID the bodies of migrants lost in sea crossings. Maria says the 'holy trinity of primary methods' - teeth, fingerprint, DNA - are the still the foremost ways to establish who the bodies are. But she realized jewellery can hold vitals clues to discovering who a deceased person is - which can help remains be reunited with loved ones, reports the Daily Record. Maria joined a project led by Interpol when she was a Masters student at the University of Dundee. It was designed to improve practices around victim identification in disasters, which sparked her interest in the relationship between forensics and personal effects. She said: "It was a project that was spearheaded by Interpol and a number of other international project partners, looking at how we could improve practices around disaster victim identification. They were looking at the usual scientific method - DNA, fingerprinting, dental records - but they were also expanding into what we call secondary methods. "They were looking at clothing, personal effects, body modification, tattoos - and jewellery. That was my background - I was a jewellery designer by trade. A lot of pieces are very traceable. The might have some kind of mark, a serial number, a hallmark. "A lot are very personalised, they can connect to a manufacturer, a designer, a maker and we can trace something back to the place of purchase. Distinctive pieces are recognised, they're memorable. Something that has been worn often or for a long time can be a physical repository for DNA. "They might have been gifted between family members - they might symbolise a very significant relationship, they may have been passed down through generations or they could be really important spiritual, religious or cultural items." She added: "I was never as interested in designing as a lot of my peers and colleagues. I didn't actually enjoy sitting down at the bench and designing and making quite as much as I did the research and studying. "It was all the stories, the histories, the meanings that I was interested in - why people wear jewellery, why they don't wear jewellery, when they decide to take it off or keep it with them, and what it symbolised. I was living with a medical student, one of my friends, and there was probably a bit of me that saw her go off and thought 'she's really going to save lives and help people.' "As a jeweller, we design wedding and engagement or memorial pieces, and we really have to understand their personality, their identity and relationships. It's very much an important job - but the opportunity to get involved in that project made me think there could be some way to really improve or contribute to people's lives. "It really opened up my thinking to this whole new world that I hadn't really been exposed to before. I loved the idea that I could use my skills and knowledge as a jewellery designer in this completely new way to really help people." Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox Maria and her team worked on a jewellery classification system, which has since been incorporated into Interpol's current disaster victim identification practices. Maria, who has a PhD in Forensic Jewellery said: "I was working mostly in forensic imaging, so any kind of visual evidence, whether that was photography, fingerprints, footwear, patterns, 360 panoramic views of scenes, and I was carrying on my own research alongside that. I was starting to deploy to international incidents - aviation crashes mainly, but also natural disasters and terror incidents too. There was a lot of international mass fatality work. "Once I started doing the work, I realized that it wasn't just about studying these objects, analysing them, trying to trace them, trying to identify people. I think especially in the mass fatality context, where very sadly, many families and next of kin don't have a dedicated place to go to say goodbye, to visit. "They maybe don't always even receive the remains of their loved ones, they depending on the condition. Very sadly, it might not be possible to repatriate an entire body. I think this is where it goes back to my initial training and love of jewellery, and all the personal stories and the sentimental value. "I actually drew quite a few parallels with the designing and making that we do in the jewellery world and the return and the repatriation of objects to next of kin, because these little objects, they're very often seen as an extension of us and of our identities, especially if they've got that really personal element. To receive those back after often quite traumatic incidents and events really means a lot to the families, and that part of the process is not to be underestimated. "We try and treat the objects with the same amount of dignity and respect as we would the person themselves. That includes everything - ensuring that the families have an opportunity to view the object. "They can choose whether they would like the items returned in their current state, even if they've been damaged or melted or burned, or whether they would like them to be repaired or fully reconstructed. We give families that option, and we also try to put just as much care into how we package and gift those items. "The care that needs to go into that is just as much an important factor, because that's the first impression that families will often get - it's the first thing they'll see. Also, many of them may not quite be ready to open that package and confront these items. "For many of them, they may choose to keep them in storage or only revisit them a number of months or years later, so we have to really think about that whole process." Maria has begun teaching and is travelling the world to train law enforcement and investigators based on her research. "Over the last few years, I've become more involved in training and upskilling law enforcement and investigative agencies on the value of jewellery and personal effects and trying to create practical, hands on training programs, things that will be useful for them in their day to day life," she said. "Most recently, I was over in Brazil, working with the Brazilian Federal Police and running a training program for them - they're kind of forensic gemologists. "They have quite a large criminal investigative department over in Brazil, because they deal a lot with gem crime and trafficking and smuggling of gemstones and other artefacts across borders. I've developed a lot of training, and now being an educator myself, that that's something I'm very passionate about, is trying to share the knowledge I've learned. "I still work on some live cases, but these days, it's more about kind of helping others to help themselves, rather than me doing the work personally." The project closest to her heart today is a humanitarian project called Identifying the Displaced, which seeks to use personal effects to identify people lost while migrating across the Aegean Sea. Maria and her team have recovered over 500 personal objects, belonging to migrants who lost their lives while attempting to cross the "River of Death," which has claimed the life of over 2,500 people between 2014 and 2024. "We're looking to try and study and analyse the objects, the jewellery, the personal effects that were carried with people on the move," she said. "Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as they make these journeys to try and gain entry into Europe, a lot of them, very sadly, lose their lives. "By collaborating with the local pathologists and people who work in that industry over in Greece, we've designed a database that we're trying to use to collaborate with different communities to raise more awareness of the migrant crisis, to hopefully generate new investigative insight around the objects."
Daily Record
13-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
Former Scots jewellery designer becomes world's first forensic jeweller
Dr. Maria Maclennan, 36, has become the world's first forensic jeweller - and is able to ID bodies in disaster zones through their rings, necklaces and earrings. A former jewellery designer has become the world's first forensic jeweller - who IDs bodies in disaster zones through their rings, necklaces and earrings. Dr. Maria Maclennan, 36, analyses victim's bracelets, gemstones, pendants and trinkets for clues to help emergency crews, investigators and families. She first studied jewellery design at university then realised she wanted to use her talents to help people instead. The Dundee -based forensic jeweller has since been drafted in to aid identification in disasters and mass fatalities around the world. She helped identify victims of the 2015 Tunisia terror attacks, worked on Grenfell, the Germanwings plane crash in France in 2015 and the Mozambican airliner disaster in Namibia in 2013. She's also helped ID the bodies of migrants lost in sea crossings. Maria says the 'holy trinity of primary methods' - teeth, fingerprint, DNA - are the still the foremost ways to establish who the bodies are. But she realized jewellery can hold vitals clues to discovering who a deceased person is - which can help remains be reunited with loved ones. Maria joined a project led by Interpol when she was a Masters student at the University of Dundee. It was designed to improve practices around victim identification in disasters, which sparked her interest in the relationship between forensics and personal effects. She said: "It was a project that was spearheaded by Interpol and a number of other international project partners, looking at how we could improve practices around disaster victim identification. They were looking at the usual scientific method - DNA, fingerprinting, dental records - but they were also expanding into what we call secondary methods. "They were looking at clothing, personal effects, body modification, tattoos - and jewellery. That was my background - I was a jewellery designer by trade. A lot of pieces are very traceable. The might have some kind of mark, a serial number, a hallmark. "A lot are very personalised, they can connect to a manufacturer, a designer, a maker and we can trace something back to the place of purchase. Distinctive pieces are recognised, they're memorable. Something that has been worn often or for a long time can be a physical repository for DNA. "They might have been gifted between family members - they might symbolise a very significant relationship, they may have been passed down through generations or they could be really important spiritual, religious or cultural items." She added: "I was never as interested in designing as a lot of my peers and colleagues. I didn't actually enjoy sitting down at the bench and designing and making quite as much as I did the research and studying. "It was all the stories, the histories, the meanings that I was interested in - why people wear jewellery, why they don't wear jewellery, when they decide to take it off or keep it with them, and what it symbolised. I was living with a medical student, one of my friends, and there was probably a bit of me that saw her go off and thought 'she's really going to save lives and help people.' "As a jeweller, we design wedding and engagement or memorial pieces, and we really have to understand their personality, their identity and relationships. It's very much an important job - but the opportunity to get involved in that project made me think there could be some way to really improve or contribute to people's lives. "It really opened up my thinking to this whole new world that I hadn't really been exposed to before. I loved the idea that I could use my skills and knowledge as a jewellery designer in this completely new way to really help people." Maria and her team worked on a jewellery classification system, which has since been incorporated into Interpol's current disaster victim identification practices. Maria, who has a PhD in Forensic Jewellery said: "I was working mostly in forensic imaging, so any kind of visual evidence, whether that was photography, fingerprints, footwear, patterns, 360 panoramic views of scenes, and I was carrying on my own research alongside that. I was starting to deploy to international incidents - aviation crashes mainly, but also natural disasters and terror incidents too. There was a lot of international mass fatality work. "Once I started doing the work, I realized that it wasn't just about studying these objects, analyzing them, trying to trace them, trying to identify people. I think especially in the mass fatality context, where very sadly, many families and next of kin don't have a dedicated place to go to say goodbye, to visit. "They maybe don't always even receive the remains of their loved ones, they depending on the condition. Very sadly, it might not be possible to repatriate an entire body. I think this is where it goes back to my initial training and love of jewellery, and all the personal stories and the sentimental value. "I actually drew quite a few parallels with the designing and making that we do in the jewellery world and the return and the repatriation of objects to next of kin, because these little objects, they're very often seen as an extension of us and of our identities, especially if they've got that really personal element. To receive those back after often quite traumatic incidents and events really means a lot to the families, and that part of the process is not to be underestimated. "We try and treat the objects with the same amount of dignity and respect as we would the person themselves. That includes everything - ensuring that the families have an opportunity to view the object. "They can choose whether they would like the items returned in their current state, even if they've been damaged or melted or burned, or whether they would like them to be repaired or fully reconstructed. We give families that option, and we also try to put just as much care into how we package and gift those items. "The care that needs to go into that is just as much an important factor, because that's the first impression that families will often get - it's the first thing they'll see. Also, many of them may not quite be ready to open that package and confront these items. "For many of them, they may choose to keep them in storage or only revisit them a number of months or years later, so we have to really think about that whole process." Maria has begun teaching - lecturing at Edinburgh College of Art, and travelling the world to train law enforcement and investigators based on her research. "Over the last few years, I've become more involved in training and upskilling law enforcement and investigative agencies on the value of jewelry and personal effects and trying to create practical, hands on training programs, things that will be useful for them in their day to day life," she said. "Most recently, I was over in Brazil, working with the Brazilian Federal Police and running a training program for them - they're kind of forensic gemologists. "They have quite a large criminal investigative department over in Brazil, because they deal a lot with gem crime and trafficking and smuggling of gemstones and other artifacts across borders. I've developed a lot of training, and now being an educator myself, that that's something I'm very passionate about, is trying to share the knowledge I've learned. "I still work on some live cases, but these days, it's more about kind of helping others to help themselves, rather than me doing the work personally." The project closest to her heart today is a humanitarian project called Identifying the Displaced, which seeks to use personal effects to identify people lost while migrating across the Aegean Sea. Maria and her team have recovered over 500 personal objects, belonging to migrants who lost their lives while attempting to cross the "River of Death," which has claimed the life of over 2,500 people between 2014 and 2024. "We're looking to try and study and analyze the objects, the jewelry, the personal effects that were carried with people on the move," she said. "Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as they make these journeys to try and gain entry into Europe, a lot of them, very sadly, lose their lives. "By collaborating with the local pathologists and people who work in that industry over in Greece, we've designed a database that we're trying to use to collaborate with different communities to raise more awareness of the migrant crisis, to hopefully generate new investigative insight around the objects."
Irish Daily Mirror
28-06-2025
- General
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Cold' four final words before pilot flew plane into mountain killing all
A heart-rending documentary on the catastrophe of Germanwings Flight 9525 was released on Sky last month. The passenger aircraft met with disaster over the French Alps on March 24, 2015, soon after setting off from Barcelona, Spain, en route to Dusseldorf in Germany, resulting in the loss of all 150 people aboard. What was meant to be a regular trip for those on board turned tragic an hour into the flight when it crashed in the French Alps at 430mph. An immediate investigation, which included extracting data from the black box, disclosed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally caused the crash. The harrowing event prompted major changes to regulations concerning pilots being alone in the cockpit to prevent such a tragedy from reoccurring. Flight 9525 had a scheduled departure time of 10 am local time, with its final correspondence with air traffic control occurring 30 minutes later. A critical moment took place when Captain Patrick Sondenheimer left the cockpit for the toilet, when Lubitz seized the opportunity to lock him out. The chilling final words captured by the cockpit voice recorder were Lubitz's to his captain: "You can go now." Before leaving Lubitz in charge, Sondenheimer informed him he would handle the radio communications. Approximately 28 minutes into their journey, the sound of the cockpit door closing is audible, reports the Daily Record. At this juncture, Lubitz altered Flight 9525's altitude from 38,000 feet to a mere 100 feet, initiating a descent into the mountains and disregarding communication attempts from air traffic control as the plane plummeted towards the ground. The co-pilot maintained his silence for the remainder of the flight, while Sondenheimer can be heard pounding on the cockpit door in a desperate attempt to regain entry. However, the captain's efforts proved futile as Lubitz had also bypassed the emergency access codes that would have allowed the flight crew to enter the cockpit. This left him alone at the helm, with complete control over the aircraft. As Sondenheimer's desperation escalated, he can be heard shouting, 'open the damn door' whilst continuing his attempts to break down the door. In the final moments captured on the recording, passengers' screams can be heard just before Flight 9525 crashes into the mountainside. This chilling sound suggests that many were oblivious to the impending disaster until the very last moment. In the wake of the crash, it emerged that Lubitz had been battling severe depression and had shown signs of suicidal tendencies. He had been deemed unfit to fly by his doctor, but this crucial information had been concealed from his employer. Following the incident, there was increased discussion around medical confidentiality, leading to the implementation of new policies within the aviation industry to address pilot mental health. A former girlfriend of Lubitz provided a haunting perspective on the pilot, recounting to a German paper his ominous words: "One day I will do something that will change the whole system, and then all will know my name and remember it. I never knew what he meant, but now it makes sense." The family of Lubitz firmly dismissed the conclusive investigation regarding the crash's cause, contesting that it wasn't suicide. They suggested that instead of taking his own life, he had lost consciousness before Flight 9525 met its tragic end.
