BA long haul pilot Robert Brown claimed he was planning to crash his Boeing
747 after killing his wife Joanna, because he wanted to 'make a statement'
The friends and family of a woman killed by a
British Airways pilot, who then threatened to commit suicide by crashing
his jumbo jet, have warned that airlines are not doing enough to
monitor the mental conditions of their crew.
Long haul pilot Robert Brown, 47, killed his estranged wife Joanna in a savage hammer attack in 2010, following a costly and bitter divorce battle.
Joanna Brown was killed in a brutal hammer attack by her extranged ex-husband
He was eventually convicted of manslaughter rather than murder after convincing the jury that he had been suffering extreme stress as a result of his marital breakdown.
But in a chilling echo of the events of this week, which saw
Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz take his own life by crashing his
passenger jet, Brown told his trial that he had been planning to down a packed plane to “make a statement”.
Brown had been due to fly a Boeing 747 jumbo jet from Heathrow to Lagos
in Nigeria, the day after he killed his wife, but rang in sick at the
last minute.
Robert Brown with his pregnant girlfriend Stephanie Bellemere on the day he killed Joanna
He told his trial: “I didn’t want to be another husband who kills his wife and then himself and nobody cares. I thought if I got to work I could crash an aircraft, or fly to Lagos and crash it there. I wanted to make a statement.”
Last night Joanna’s devastated friends and family said the Germanwings disaster showed that airlines were still not monitoring the mental well-being of their pilots robustly enough.
• Let's get this straight: depression does not make people a danger to society
Joanna's mother, Diana Parkes, said: "I feel strongly that lessons must be learnt from these cases to prevent other lives from being wasted in this horrific way.
"Robert Brown's claim in court that he planned to ditch a commercial flight the day after he killed her was chilling to hear, and yet there has never been any acknowledgement from British Airways that lessons can be learnt from that."
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, 48, Joanna’s best friend, said there were “chilling similarities” between the breakdowns of Brown and Lubitz.
She said: “When I saw the picture of Lubitz in his running kit, it sends a shiver down my spine. Brown was also a competitive runner and indeed they both ran for their airlines. But tragically the similarities don’t end there.
“Neither should have been allowed to fly and put the lives of their passengers at risk. In both cases there were things the airlines should have picked up on. The warning signs were there.”
Robert Brown had been due to fly a Boeing 747 jumbo jet from Heathrow to Lagos in Nigeria
The business consultant said the current practice of assessing pilots every 12 months was not stringent enough and was allowing those with developing mental health issues to get behind the controls.
She said: “Robert’s last assessment had been in the December and he killed Jo the following October. He apparently mentioned the stress of his divorce at the assessment, but then was given the green light to fly.
“There was no follow up by the airline to see whether his stress was getting worse and colleagues who he confided in about his state of mind kept quiet because they were worried that he would be suspended and would lose his income.”
Mrs Barkworth-Nanton, who now runs a foundation in the name of her friend, who had two children, said flight crew who have concerns about their colleagues should be given more support and encouragement to blow the whistle.
She said: “If a pilot is signed off sick they lose their generous allowances so it is as if they are being punished for admitting they have a problem. That needs to change because pilots have the lives of hundreds of people at their hands and must be encouraged to seek the help they need to protect them and their passengers."
Mrs Barkworth-Nanton also said doctors who diagnose stress related issues in passenger jet pilots should be compelled to pass the information to the airlines.
She said: “Robert claimed in court he went to his GP in the months before he killed Jo and was prescribed sleeping pills. If this was true it was something BA were obviously unaware of.”
She went on: “Robert’s terrible crime resulted in him taking the life of Jo, but it could have been much worse and myself and Jo’s family feel that airlines are not learning the lessons of these tragedies.”
At least five other fatal air accidents in recent years have been put down to pilot suicides.
Robert Brown with his pregnant girlfriend Stephanie Bellemere on the day he killed Joanna
He told his trial: “I didn’t want to be another husband who kills his wife and then himself and nobody cares. I thought if I got to work I could crash an aircraft, or fly to Lagos and crash it there. I wanted to make a statement.”
Last night Joanna’s devastated friends and family said the Germanwings disaster showed that airlines were still not monitoring the mental well-being of their pilots robustly enough.
• Let's get this straight: depression does not make people a danger to society
Joanna's mother, Diana Parkes, said: "I feel strongly that lessons must be learnt from these cases to prevent other lives from being wasted in this horrific way.
"Robert Brown's claim in court that he planned to ditch a commercial flight the day after he killed her was chilling to hear, and yet there has never been any acknowledgement from British Airways that lessons can be learnt from that."
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, 48, Joanna’s best friend, said there were “chilling similarities” between the breakdowns of Brown and Lubitz.
She said: “When I saw the picture of Lubitz in his running kit, it sends a shiver down my spine. Brown was also a competitive runner and indeed they both ran for their airlines. But tragically the similarities don’t end there.
“Neither should have been allowed to fly and put the lives of their passengers at risk. In both cases there were things the airlines should have picked up on. The warning signs were there.”
Robert Brown had been due to fly a Boeing 747 jumbo jet from Heathrow to Lagos in Nigeria
The business consultant said the current practice of assessing pilots every 12 months was not stringent enough and was allowing those with developing mental health issues to get behind the controls.
She said: “Robert’s last assessment had been in the December and he killed Jo the following October. He apparently mentioned the stress of his divorce at the assessment, but then was given the green light to fly.
“There was no follow up by the airline to see whether his stress was getting worse and colleagues who he confided in about his state of mind kept quiet because they were worried that he would be suspended and would lose his income.”
Mrs Barkworth-Nanton, who now runs a foundation in the name of her friend, who had two children, said flight crew who have concerns about their colleagues should be given more support and encouragement to blow the whistle.
She said: “If a pilot is signed off sick they lose their generous allowances so it is as if they are being punished for admitting they have a problem. That needs to change because pilots have the lives of hundreds of people at their hands and must be encouraged to seek the help they need to protect them and their passengers."
Mrs Barkworth-Nanton also said doctors who diagnose stress related issues in passenger jet pilots should be compelled to pass the information to the airlines.
She said: “Robert claimed in court he went to his GP in the months before he killed Jo and was prescribed sleeping pills. If this was true it was something BA were obviously unaware of.”
She went on: “Robert’s terrible crime resulted in him taking the life of Jo, but it could have been much worse and myself and Jo’s family feel that airlines are not learning the lessons of these tragedies.”
At least five other fatal air accidents in recent years have been put down to pilot suicides.
