Germanwings Catastrophe

Hundreds of airplane crashes have happened since the invention of airplanes. A multitude of reasons are responsible for these disasters; terrorist attacks, suicides, engine failure, technological failures, and extreme weather conditions.

This week, Germanwings flight 9525 came to an end shortly after it departed from Barcelona, Spain, en route to Dusseldorf, Germany, when the Airbus A320 plummeted into a remote region of French Alps, killing all 150 passengers and crew on board.

This catastrophe came as a shock to Lufthansa Airlines, the owning company of Germanwings, and to the Airbus manufacturing company.

There was no explanation for the crash until the black box from the Airbus was recovered earlier this week. In the recording, the pilot is heard yelling into the cockpit, insisting he be let in to regain control of the plane.

Now here come the accusations.

The co-pilot had locked himself in the cockpit when the pilot left for was seems to be a bathroom break. In the recording, the co-pilot can be heard breathing in a normal manner, dismissing the theory of a medical emergency preventing him from opening the door to let the pilot back in.

Not only was the pilot locked out of the cockpit, but when he initially left, the autopilot elevation setting was changed from 38,000 feet to 100 feet, the absolute lowest setting.

So far, all we know is that the co-pilot intentionally locked the door to the cockpit, all people on board were killed, and the plane is completely demolished.

Photo Credit: i3.mirror.co.uk

The black box recording raises a few questions to chew on:

Was the co-pilot suicidal?

A terrorist?

Or did he suffer a medical emergency which inhibited him from opening the door to the cockpit to allow the pilot back in?

… To be continued.

 

The ISIS Crisis

We have all heard the horror stories of terrorism – beheadings, genocide, suicide bombings and kidnappings. They happen every single day in many different countries. But when is it time for international forces to step in?

Within the past year, an especially violent extremist group called ISIS has been popping up in my news feed quite a bit, usually with a title including the word ‘beheading’.

Journalists, school-children, women and tourists are the central targets for ISIS kidnappings. These are the most profitable groups of people as women and young girls can be sold to wealthy men, and the journalists and tourists will have families back home willing to give everything for their return.

Often, journalists who are kidnapped at their hands will never return, but the gruesome videos of their death will.

ISIS’s signature horror is far beyond anything any extremist group has bothered to do before: publishing the videos of beheadings and slitting of throats on the internet for everyone to see.

Photo Credits: topinfopost.com

The scary thing about ISIS is the unpredictability of their beheadings. There is no negotiating with ISIS – if they decide to kill a captive, they will.

But why has nobody killed their leader already?

Because extremist groups this large are like a Hydra (to reference Greek Mythology). You can eliminate one leader, but when you do, another will just take their place.

Currently there is no way international powers or the UN can end this reign of terror.

Still want to go hike those Algerian Mountains?