Plane crash in Alps

[GlenW]

Chefs theory: pilot went to toilet and co pilot in cockpit had a heart attack meaning he couldn't open the door and fell on the controls to descend rapidly.

Cause of crash: cockpit pilot heart attack

So why didn't the pilot outside, the co-pilot I believe, enter the unlock code and just wait for the door to open.

[Unix]

Chefs theory: pilot went to toilet and co pilot in cockpit had a heart attack meaning he couldn't open the door and fell on the controls to descend rapidly.

Cause of crash: cockpit pilot heart attack

The keypad? Did he also happen to fall on that disabling it?

[chef]

Good point. Unless the age of the plane didn't have this unlock/deadlock feature (I have no idea, simply guessing) then it would seem my guess is wrong.

[Pondlife]

This all assumes that whomever was on the outside remembered the correct code for that aircraft. I would hope they're not all 1234.

[GlenW]

This all assumes that whomever was on the outside remembered the correct code for that aircraft. I would hope they're not all 1234.

Maybe there was a de-pressurisation, hypoxia would quickly befuddle your brain so you couldn't remember your name never mind a door code. The pilot in command could set a descent then pass out, while the other pilot is trying to get in the cockpit.

Pure speculation I know, but hard to resist doing.

[Unix]

This all assumes that whomever was on the outside remembered the correct code for that aircraft. I would hope they're not all 1234.

Not a great time to forget a code..."Feck what was that code again 3453? sorry you have entered the code wrong 3 times, contact the system admin to change the code". .....arrrrgggghhhhhh

[EternalOptimist]

All cockpits should be en-suite. esp Indonesian and German ones

[Ticktock]

Pure speculation I know, but hard to resist doing.

It's actually very easy to resist.

I don't know whether people are trying to prove their intelligence (by repeatedly making wrong guesses), find it fun to speculate on how so many people died, take some delight in the event, or what.

[GlenW]

It's actually very easy to resist.

I don't know whether people are trying to prove their intelligence (by repeatedly making wrong guesses), find it fun to speculate on how so many people died, take some delight in the event, or what.

Had an argument with the missus this morning?

[VectraMan]

This all assumes that whomever was on the outside remembered the correct code for that aircraft. I would hope they're not all 1234.

With pilots flying different aircraft that does mean that if they're all different, forgetting the code du jour is quite likely. OTOH if they were all the same for one airline, say, then that'd be an obvious security flaw that could allow a terrorist into the cockpit.

Interesting how these rules evolve. You'd think not allowing one person to be alone in the cockpit would be a no-brainer, especially after this:

David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor of Flightglobal, said that normally a locked cockpit door could be opened with a code.
"But inside there is a simple switch on the control panel the pilot would turn to lock the door," he said.
He cited the crash of a Mozambican Airlines flight in Namibia in 2013 in which the pilot is believed to have locked himself in the cockpit and put the plane into a nose dive.

Then again, there's only so much you can do to protect against a suicidal pilot.