Germanwings' parent company, Lufthansa Group, has announced it will refine its safety procedures in response to the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 in the French Alps.
According to a report from French prosecutors released early March 26, the co-pilot of the plane deliberately crashed it into the French Alps with 150 people on board. The co-pilot waited until the pilot was out of the cockpit before locking the door and initiating the descent. Prosecutors have ruled out the possibility that the co-pilot could have fallen unconscious or initiated the descent accidentally, and have said that there is "no indication" of terrorism.
In coordination with the German Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrtbundesamt) other German airlines and the German aviation industry association (Bundesverband der deutschen Luftverkehrswirtschaft), the airlines of the Lufthansa Group will adopt a new cockpit occupancy procedure that will require two authorized persons to be present in the cockpit at all times during a flight.
The passenger airlines of the Lufthansa Group will adopt the new procedure as soon as possible, in due consultation with their national aviation authority, the Lufthansa Group said in a statement announcing the decision.
Additionally, the company has created the new position of Group Safety Pilot, to be occupied immediately by Captain Werner Maas, who will hold it in parallel with his current function as Safety Pilot of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Captain Maas will have overarching group-wide responsibility for examining and further refining all flight safety-relevant procedures in his new capacity, in which he reports directly to Group CEO Carsten Spohr.
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