Aviation psychologist Professor Robert Bor examines the mental health issues behind the recent Germanwings plane tragedy

The Eve of Destruction: Germanwings flight 4U 9525 and Pilot Suicide

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A popular but dated image of pilots probably derives from war movies showing scenes in which they wrestle with the controls of a damaged aircraft to avoid catastrophe. Modern aviation is far removed from what are now outdated Hollywood depictions of pilots.  Wrestling at the controls to save the aircraft is hardly in a day’s work.  Planes now fly via computers following the calm and well-rehearsed inputs from pilots.  The recent Germanwings pilot suicide crash, however, highlights that there are a rare few pilots who do not wrestle with the flight controls to save their aircraft, but they may wrestle with very powerful and destructive forces within their minds.

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