Pilots 'should marry to avoid Germanwings-like crashes'

Lubitz, who reportedly suffered from depression, locked his captain out of the cockpit and deliberately steered the Airbus A320 into the French Alps on March 24, killing all 150 passengers and crew on board.

Doğan News Agency reported on April 16 that Kotil told new pilots of Turkey’s flag carrier that the Germanwings crash showed the importance of pilots’ “lifestyles.” 

“That crash happened after the pilot, who caused the accident, broke up with his girlfriend. Hence, my friends, know that we are absolutely encouraging single pilots to marry,” Kotil said, according to the report.

He also complained that the number of female pilots in Turkish Airlines remained low, citing the fact that only three women were among the 86 recently graduated pilots. 

“We currently only have 40 female pilots in our fleet. If half of our 4,000 pilots were female, there would be 2,000 women … At least 10 percent of our pilots should be female, meaning 400 in total. I invite all women who meet the criteria to become pilots,” Kotil said.