"It's not the plane."

My mind is frequently drawn back to one of the best episodes of The West Wing, "Noel," which had a subplot involving an apparently mentally balanced fighter pilot suddenly taking a jet on a joyride before crashing into a mountain in an evident suicide. Josh wanted to know why the plane crashed and became drawn into this incident as part of an existential crises that he'd been having since getting shot. He needed to know--to find a rational reason--why a plane would crash. He would only be left with the pilot's last words: "It's not the plane."

After the Germanwings flight 4U9525 crashed in the French Alps, we immediately thought terrorism, but quickly ruled it out--even though terrorism is by far more statistically likely than what actually happened. There has only been several cases where a commercial airline pilot took the opportunity to commit suicide with a planeload of people with him.

Why aren't we considering the terrorism angle? The first explanation is that he was white. The second is that he wasn't a Muslim. The third (and, actually, the best reason) is that he didn't make a statement, before or after, the attack. He just locked the pilot out, and he waited for the end to come in silence. There was no manifesto--which makes it all the more disturbing. This was a suicide with 150 casualties--it is not an act of terrorism, which requires a political/social/religious component. It is like when a person kills themselves by parking their car on railroad tracks. This would make the suicide sudden, like an act of God and not a conscious attempt to end one's life. Unfortunately, parking your car on railroad tracks significantly increases the likelihood that other people will be injured/killed in your attempt to end your life. This makes you not sick but an asshole.

The airline was supposed to anticipate that a pilot would someday wait until he is alone in the cockpit, lock everyone out, then fly the plane into a mountain? Common sense is that no one will try to kill themselves--ever--in any occupation. Humans have a biological and cultural urge to survive. Especially at work, where dying is not part of the deal or job description. Dying is a private act, and not one in which you would generally like to share with your coworkers. No mechanical back-ups or policy will alter that. That's the most important safety measure: People will want to survive.

In America, airlines are required to bring in a second person (even a flight attendant) to spend time with the co-pilot when the pilot leaves. That way, there will always be at least two people in the cockpit at the same time. Of course, the pilot could still kill or incapacitate the second person, then do the exact same thing. It's another safety measure, yes. Does not significantly decrease the chances that this won't happen again.

Flying is somehow the safest way to travel. You can fly millions of miles and die in bed surrounded by your great grandchildren. How is THAT even possible? That is the one thing that always blows my mind, and should give us all perspective concerning this latest air tragedy.