Although it remained silent on the issue of attaching camera video recorder or closed circuit television inside airplane cockpits, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) on April 1 approved amendments to aviation regulations requiring two persons inside the plane’s flight deck at all times.
The mandate takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette, or any newspaper of general circulation.
The Caap edict came, following the result of investigation that Germanwings Flight 9525 copilot Andrea Lubitz deliberately locked out of the cockpit the pilot-in-command before programming the aircraft to descend to almost 100 feet above the ground to crash.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Caap said for aircraft certified to be manned by two pilots, a flight crew member, not necessarily a pilot, should be inside the cockpit if a pilot leaves for personal reasons.
The Caap said the crew member should be preferably male.
“The mandatory regulation means that at the event either one of the pilots would like to get out of the cockpit for lavatory break or other reasons, they must allow another member of the flight crew to enter the cockpit that will serve as a backup, preventing the pilot outside from being locked out by the other pilot who is inside the cockpit,” it said.
The Caap also mandates that the cockpit door should be locked from the time all external doors are closed for embarkation. The door can only be opened until disembarkation time, except when necessary.
“Means shall be provided for monitoring from either pilot’s station the entire door area outside the flight crew compartment to identify persons requesting entry and to detect suspicious behavior or potential threat,” Caap added.
Caap chief William K. Hotchkiss III approved the amendments last April 1, and also ordered aircraft operators to include in their manuals procedures related to the amendments.
The changes shall be submitted to the Caap for review and approval, he said.