The final report for Germanwings Flight 9525, which crashed into the Swiss Alps killing all 150 occupants on board on March 24th 2015, was released by the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for civil aviation safety (BEA) on March 13th 2016. The report confirms the initial speculations that the first officer deliberately flew the aircraft into terrain.

An investigation into the co-pilots medical history was conducted and identified that approximately one month before the accident the co-pilot had been diagnosed with psychosomatic disorder and had been prescribed anti-depressant medications by a psychotherapist. A toxicology report identified that a number of these medications were present in the co-pilots remains and therefore he was deemed unfit to fly at the time of the accident. The reports states that no preventative action could have been taken by authorities, as no effort was made by the co-pilot or anyone else to notify the airline of his condition.

The BEA was able to identify critical moments within the cockpit by analysing data taken from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). Sound analysis was able to determine the point in which the captain left the cockpit and also his several unsuccessful attempts to re-enter, due to the cockpit door locking system. The CVR also recorded the controlled breathing of the co-pilot, indicating he was conscious and made a deliberate effort put the aircraft into a steep descent. As a result of the findings, current procedures for pilot mental evaluations were revised, including if a threat to passenger safety outweighed the requirements of the medical confidentiality of pilots. Six safety recommendations were made by the BEA, which included additional monitoring of pilots with histories of psychological illness.

The Thai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) has grounded two of its domestic carriers and revoked the aircraft registrations of another. The DCA grounded City Airways’ only aircraft after concerns were raised regarding the airline’s safety culture. Business Air’s only aircraft had its registration revoked just two weeks after it had been given permission to resume operations. The DCA granted the airline 30 days to acquire another aircraft and resume flights or it could be at risk of losing its Air Operators Certificate (AOC). Intira Airlines was also grounded in January after it was revealed that the airline had accrued over USD28.8Milliion in debt.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has reiterated that the airspace above Crimea (Ukraine) remains closed to commercial operations. Following the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 by a surface to air missile in July 2014, airlines were advised to divert around this area to avoid a similar accident occurring. To allow airlines to operate more efficiently, EASA has approved the use of two new flight paths. The flight paths will direct aircraft above the Western section of the Black Sea, allowing aircraft to more efficiently transit within Ukrainian airspace while continuing to avoid the airspace above Crimea and its territorial waters.