I heard on the news this morning that the Lufthansa Germanwings plane that crashed in the Alps was a deliberate action. The co-pilot apparently locked the pilot out of the cockpit and crashed the plane himself. What would be a reason for the pilot to step out of the cockpit during the flight, I wonder? What must have been going through the co-pilot's mind for him to decide to do that?

One of the passengers was an opera singer who performed with the Lyric Opera several years ago. So there is a Chicago connection to this sad story. I also heard there was a group of students from the same school who had been in an exchange program and were on their way home. So tragic for that school and town.