The March 24, 2015, crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 brought the rogue pilot–intentional crash phenomenon to the forefront of aviation safety discourse. Unlike most aircraft accident investigations that first delve into physical evidence and data at the accident site, a rogue pilot–related investigation takes the accident investigator into non-traditional areas of inquiry, including the personal, and often private, lives of the flight crew.
While accident investigators have adeptly addressed human factors for decades via the lenses of crew resource management, threat and error management and human factors analysis and classification, intentional crashing of an aircraft by the pilot remains largely a dark corner of their professional knowledge. This article focuses on understanding these events from perspectives outside their domain so that investigators can take a confident step forward when indications of possible homicide and/or suicide arise in an accident investigation.
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