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OPINION

We can't remove the human factor: Other views

USATODAY

This is an undated image taken from Facebook of  Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz in San Francisco.

JamesFallows, The Atlantic: This latest episode is horrific as an act of calculated mass murder. The Malaysia Airlines disappearance over the ocean last year was horrifying for its utter mystery. The Asiana crash ... two years ago appeared to reflect deficient basic flying skills. The TransAsia crash in Taiwan this year also appeared to involve serious pilot error. ... To the extent statistics matter, they do not reflect an increasing menace in air travel. All around the world, something like 100,000 commercial flights take off and land safely every day. ... Statistically, being on a first-world commercial airline is the very safest way you can spend your time ... even though emotionally it does not seem that way."

Stephen L. Carter, Bloomberg View: Since the Sept. 11 attacks, federal law has required that the cockpit be protected by 'a rigid door in a bulkhead between the flight deck and the passenger area to ensure that the door cannot be forced open from the passenger compartment.' … Most airlines around the world comply with those U.S. rules. … We can't forbid pilots to leave the flight deck — nature may always call. And having gone to all this trouble to harden cockpit doors, it would be silly to begin softening them again. The deployment of some sort of physical emergency unlocking device would be asking for trouble. Maybe someone will come up with a clever and effective solution. (But) we'll never be able to remove the human element."

Patrick Smith, Ask The Pilot : In the U.S., airline pilots undergo medical evaluations either yearly or twice-yearly. A medical certificate must be issued by an FAA-certified physician. … Pilots can be grounded for any of hundreds of reasons, from heart trouble or diabetes to, yes, depression and anxiety. … New-hire pilots at some airlines must undergo psychological examinations (before) being hired. On top of that, we are subject to random testing for narcotics and alcohol. … I'm uncertain what more we should want or expect. Pilots are human beings, and no profession is bulletproof against every human weakness. … At a certain point, there needs to be the presumption that the men and women in control of your airplane are exactly the highly skilled professionals you expect them to be, and not killers in waiting."

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