Turkish Airlines chief urges pilots to marry after Germanwings tragedy

The general manager of Turkish Airlines has urged single pilots to marry, after the Germanwings tragedy blamed on a pilot with psychological problems.

The tragedy last month "taught us new things and piloting is a very critical task. The lifestyle of pilots -- be they men or women -- is very important," Temel Kotil was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet daily.

"The accident happened after the pilot's girlfriend left him. So my dear friends, take into account that we advise our single pilots to get married," he added.

Initial reports suggested the Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had broken up with his girlfriend, but this was later called into question.

Lubitz, who had been diagnosed as suicidal in the past, is believed to have intentionally flown the plane into the mountainside after locking the pilot out of the cockpit.

All 150 people on board were killed when the plane smashed into the French Alps.

Kotil, whose airline is one the fastest growing carriers in the world, acknowledged that there should be more female pilots at Turkish Airlines.

He said out of 86 new pilot graduates, only three are women and there were only 40 women pilots in the entire company out of 4,000 pilots.

"I invite all women who fit the requirements to become pilots," he added, setting an initial target of 10 percent of the fleet's pilot to be women.