A video from aircraft manufacturer Airbus, maker of the Germanwings plane that crashed on Tuesday in the French Alps killing all 150 on board, shows how the flight crew can access a locked cockpit in the event of an emergency such as pilot incapacitation.
However, it appears that if a pilot is still conscious, he or she can override the emergency entry with the flick of a button and keep the flight deck door locked.
French prosecutors say the co-pilot of the Germanwings plane, Andreas Lubitz, locked the captain out of the cockpit during the flight when the captain left to presumably go to the bathroom. Lubitz then deliberately crashed the plane into the side of a mountain in a controlled descent, officials said today.
In the video, Airbus explains the procedure in which a crew member can enter a special passcode to enter the cockpit if no response from the pilots is heard. It is not known if this Germanwings Airbus A320 contained such a device, but once crew enter the passcode it gives pilots a 30-second notice with a beeping sound and a flashing light that someone is unlocking the door and will enter the flight deck.
Once the 30 seconds are up, the door unlocks and a crew member has five seconds to enter the cockpit.
However, the video also clearly shows that the pilot has access to a switch with three options: Unlock, Norm and Lock. Presumably, flicking that switch to 'Lock' will keep the door shut and prevent anyone from entering the cockpit no matter how many times they punch in the passcode.
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