Flight-assisted suicides are not a new phenomenon. The crash of Egypt Airlines Flight 990 near the coast of Massachusetts, in 1999, which killed 217 people on board, was also caused by deliberate action. In a 2007 American study, Russell Lewis and his colleagues found that between 1992-2002, there were 16 aircraft-assisted suicides. All of the pilots associated in these suicides were male, with a median age of 40 years. The pilot was the sole occupant in all of the suicides involving aircraft accidents. What distinguishes the recent Germanwings crash from these plane-assisted suicides is the presence of other individuals who lost their lives. This can also be interpreted as a homicide-suicide.
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Marieke LiemResearch interests involve domestic homicide, homicide by the mentally ill, homicide followed by suicide, criminal careers of homicide offenders, and international comparative research in lethal violence. |
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