PROFILE
FROM Alan Levin
Pilot 'Deliberately' Downed the Germanwings Plane Tuesday's Germanwings airline crash that killed 150 people is now being investigated as a criminal case. The co-pilot is suspected of intentionally flying the Airbus 320 into a mountain in the French Alps. Speaking through a translator, French Prosecutor Brice Robin announced, "I consider it to be deliberate. First of all, refusing entry to the cockpit; second, maneuvering the lever for loss of altitude." Carsten Spohr is chief executive of Lufthansa, which owns GermanWings. The former pilot of the Airbus 320 — the kind of plane now said to have crashed deliberately with deadly results, told CNN today, "Apparently after the pilot... after the captain left the cockpit, he tried to regain access. There were knocks on the doors, according to French authorities, and the door was either kept locked or not opened in the way it was supposed to be. And that for sure is a clear indication that the remaining pilot, the copilot, didn't want the captain to return."
Hollywood's Got Drones Unmanned drones mounted with cameras are just what a movie director asked for. But, until today, they’ve had to go overseas, because the FAA has prohibited the commercial use of drones except for an oil company in Alaska. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a “significant milestone”—permits for six movie and TV companies to use them under certain conditions.
Air-Traffic Controllers Get New Anti-Fatigue Rules Saturday night -- for the sixth time this year -- an air traffic controller fell asleep on the job, this time at a regional control center near Miami. Other controllers were on duty and no landings were missed, but Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the incident has strengthened his resolve to do something about it. Alan Levin covers aviation safety for USA Today .
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