Deliberate crash

An act in which a pilot or others intentionally crash an aircraft; after the Germanwings Flight 9525 accident, it became a trigger for strengthening international safety regulations.

Deliberate crash

Overview

A deliberate crash (Korean: 고의 추락; 故意墜落) is the act of a pilot or a person with authority to control an aircraft intentionally crashing it of their own volition. In aviation accident investigation practice, the terms "pilot suicide" and "deliberate act" are used together, and it is strictly distinguished from simple operational error, aircraft defect, or hijacking/terrorism by outsiders. The 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525 accident was a major disaster that killed about 150 people and became a decisive trigger for aviation authorities worldwide to overhaul pilot mental health management and cockpit access control regulations.

Main content

Definition and legal nature

A deliberate crash may constitute murder and the crime of obstructing safe aviation operation under criminal law, but because the perpetrator themselves dies in most cases, there are few cases that lead to actual punishment. Under Annex 13 to the International Civil Aviation Convention (Chicago Convention), accident investigations are conducted for the purpose of preventing recurrence rather than punishment, and investigation reports define it as an "intentional act" while leaving the determination of criminal responsibility to a separate judicial process. In France, Germany, etc., bereaved families are increasingly filing civil lawsuits against airlines or manufacturers.

Major cases

Germanwings Flight 9525 (2015): An Airbus A320 en route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf crashed in the French Alps. The investigation found that the co-pilot locked the cockpit door while the captain was in the restroom and sent the aircraft into a steep descent. As a history of depression was confirmed, the airline's inadequate mental health management came under scrutiny.
EgyptAir Flight 990 (1999): A Boeing 767 en route from New York to Cairo crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The U.S. NTSB suggested the possibility of intentional control by the co-pilot, but Egyptian authorities argued it was an aircraft defect, and conclusions diverged.
SilkAir Flight 185 (1997): A Boeing 737 flying from Singapore to Jakarta plunged over Sumatra. The Indonesian investigation team raised the possibility of aircraft defect, while the U.S. side raised the possibility of pilot intervention.
Japan Airlines Flight 350 (1982): 24 people died due to a pilot with a history of mental illness who intentionally activated the thrust reversers just before landing.
Mozambique Airlines Flight 470 (2013): It crashed in a Namibian national park, and the investigation concluded it was intentional control by the captain.
Malaysia Airlines MH370 (2014): The cause of the disappearance has not been officially determined, but some investigators and private analysts have raised the possibility of an intentional route change by the captain.

Cause analysis

Background factors for deliberate crashes include mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders, personal bankruptcy or broken relationships, pressure from workplace discipline or dismissal, and hierarchical conflict among crew. Aviation workers have had mental health items treated relatively loosely in physical examinations, and there is a structural problem in which they are reluctant to self-report for fear that a psychiatric treatment history could lead to suspension of their license. It is repeatedly pointed out that the so-called "silent stigma" prevents early intervention.

International response

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recommended the "two-person rule," requiring at least two people to be in the cockpit at all times immediately after the accident, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made it mandatory. However, some European airlines and pilot unions abolished or relaxed the rule on the grounds that it was ineffective. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and ICAO recommended the introduction of a pilot mental health support program (Peer Support Program), presenting regular psychological evaluations and an anonymous counseling system as standards.

Recent trends

In 2024–2025, the emphasis is shifting from post-response to prevention. ICAO revised its pilot mental health management guidelines, recommending that airlines operate their own peer support programs and stipulate a "return after treatment" pathway so that a psychiatric treatment history does not immediately lead to license suspension. EASA also updated its mental health assessment system after 2024, revising regulations in the direction of strengthening airline responsibility.

Technologically, systems that monitor cockpit behavioral data and biometric signals in real time are being discussed. However, due to strong opposition over privacy infringement for pilots and labor-management conflict, commercialization is limited. In addition, as damage compensation lawsuits between the bereaved families of the Germanwings accident and the airline continued into the mid-2020s, where to draw the line between the scope of sharing pilot mental health information with airlines and personal information protection remains a major issue in European courts. Recently, as AI-based abnormal behavior detection and automatic route deviation prevention functions have been included in discussions on next-generation aircraft design, the ethical question of "to what extent should human intervention be blocked?" is also emerging.