By Ed Downs

The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 has left the entire aviation community stunned and horrified.  It is becoming increasingly clear that this terrible loss of life was not the result of an accident, but of murder.  It is also being disclosed that the co-pilot who perpetrated this mass murder was mentally unstable, and that a large number of individuals knew that.  How can such a thing happen?

First, and most importantly, the staff of In Flight USA extends our sympathies and prayers to the families and friends of those lost.  Such words are appropriate, but we understand they are completely inadequate.  We are so sorry.  The entire aviation community is looking inward to see how such a tragedy can be avoided in the future.  Sadly, this is not the first time a flight crew member has taken the lives of innocent passengers while trying to satisfy a raging desire to “get even” by ending their own lives and the lives of innocent others.  Suicide remains a difficult problem in many societies, as medical experts try and figure out why it is that seemingly rational people having no connection to any form of “suicide culture” feel that taking their own life is somehow a solution to supposed unsolvable problems.