article_snippet: Had the copilot suffered a medical emergency -- as some experts speculated in the initial hours after the accident -- there are safety procedures in place so that the remaining pilot -- the co-pilot -- can re-access the cockpit, the copilot said.
article_snippet: After the September 11, 2001, attacks, cockpit doors were manufactured to withstand manual force and small weapons, so there was "no way to get back to the cockpit for The captain," the copilot said.
article_snippet: American airlines require that any pilot leaving the flight deck be replaced by a flight attendant, so that two people remain in the cockpit at all times, but that's not the case with all airlines internationally, CNN aviation analyst David Soucie said.
article_snippet: Most airlines around the world follow the same procedures as Lufthansa that in flight phases with low workload, the pilot can leave the cockpit -- especially for physical need -- and then the pilot returns to the cockpit as fast as the pilot can.