A Germanwings plane, traveling from Spain to Germany, crashed into the French Alps last month killing all 150 passengers on board. Many believe the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately crashed the plane. However, one expert says the jet could have been crashed by a hacker instead of the co-pilot.
Investigators are certain the plane accelerated during its descent and the crash was deliberate.
“That may be, but it could be from any number of causes, including external electronic hacking into the aircraft’s control and navigation systems through malware or electromagnetic interception,” Matt Andersson, aviation expert and president of Indigo Aerospace, told the Financial Times.
Andersson said the jet could have easily been accessed remotely and external factors such as electronic hacking could be to blame for the crash. He also noted passenger planes don’t have the same level of security as military jets.
When speaking about hacking, Andersson added: “This is one reason military and head-of-state aircraft are generally installed with specific shielding and additional active protective measures. Civilian aircraft are not.”
Andersson suggests the public should hold judgments and wait to make conclusions until the investigation is complete.
“Both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) of the Germanwings flight 9525 have yet to be subject to international standards. Until they are, many broad assertions currently presented to the public may turn out to be erroneous, misleading or in some cases lead to improper or counterproductive regulatory and other reactions –including misplaced liability, financial and insurance claims” Andersson said.
The investigation is still underway.
