Page 14 - AAA MARCH - APRIL 2015 Online Magazine
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FEATURE AviATion REGULATion
Rule of Two
Airlines across the world have changed their policies to require two crew members in the cockpit
By Subodh Agarwal
AFTER A FRENCH PROSECUTOR’S additional crew members—to be present
evidence that a co-pilot of a Germanwings in the cockpit at any given time.
Airbus A320 flight locked out the captain John Cox, chief executive of Safety
and deliberately crashed the plane, killing Operating Systems, a Washington-based
all 150 people on board, airlines across aviation safety consultant, told CNBC that
the world have hastily changed their the crash in the French Alps would likely
policies to require that two crew members lead most airlines and national aviation
be in the cockpit at all times. authorities to follow the FAA regulation.
Though the U.S. Federal Aviation Truly so, several airlines have started
Administration (FAA) for many years had announcing that they would immediately
made it mandatory for U.S airlines that enforce the so-called “rule of two”.
The Germanwings co-pilot at least two qualified crew members be Lufthansa, which owns Germanwings,
likely changed the altitude in the cockpit throughout every flight, was among the first to announce that
command for the Airbus’s
autopilot system shortly after the European Aviation Safety Agency’s it will introduce a “rule of two” into its
arriving at cruise altitude regulations only require one pilot—and no cockpits. On its Facebook page, the airline
14 ASIAN AIRLINES & AIRPORTS MARCH / APRIL 2015 WWW.ASIANAIRLINES-AIRPORTS.COM
