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Pilot: Most U.S. flights require 2 in cockpit

Airline passengers at MacArthur Airport told News 12 they were stunned to hear the details surrounding the doomed Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps Tuesday. Reports say co-pilot Andreas

News 12 Staff

Mar 27, 2015, 1:38 AM

Updated 3,557 days ago

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Airline passengers at MacArthur Airport told News 12 they were stunned to hear the details surrounding the doomed Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps Tuesday.
Reports say co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, 28, deliberately locked out the pilot when he left the flight deck to use the bathroom. The plane crashed soon after, killing 150 passengers. Reports say Lubitz intentionally activated the descent into the mountains below.
Former Northwest captain and now Dowling College instructor James Record says most American carriers require that a second person, usually a flight attendant, is in the cockpit during crew restroom breaks.
"We can't leave the flight deck with one person on it," says Record. "It hasn't happened here because we do have two people in the cockpit."
Norwegian Airlines has already announced that it is changing its policy to not allow a single pilot left alone on the flight deck at any time.