Germanwings Airbus A320

[Jazzy]

The co-pilot of the Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps was today blamed for the disaster.

French prosecutors said Andreas Lubitz refused to let the pilot into the cockpit of the A320 when he was trying to get in.

The co-pilot was alone at the controls of the crashed jet and conscious until impact, Marseille prosecutor Brian Robin said today.

The flight’s recorder revealed that banging could be heard on the door to the cockpit, followed by screams and then the start of the impact.

‘Victims only realised what was happening at the last moment, because you only hear the screams literally at the last moment,’ said M. Robin.

M. Robin said the cockpit voice recorder gave information from the first 30 minutes of the flight.

For the first 20 minutes the two pilots talked in a normal fashion and were as courteous as two pilots would be.

He said the co-pilot’s responses, initially courteous, became ‘curt’ when the captain began the mid-flight briefing on the planned landing.

The captain is then heard asking the co-pilot to take over and the sound of a chair being pushed back and a door being closed is heard.

Moments later the captain can be heard knocking on the door and asking to be let in but there is no answer from the co-pilot.

Asked about Mr Lubitz’s ethnicity, Mr Robin said: ‘He was a German national and I don’t know his ethnic background.

‘He is not listed as a terrorist, if that is what you are insinuating.’

Pressed again on the co-pilot’s religion, he said: ‘I don’t think this is where this lies. I don’t think we will get any answers there.’

The co-pilot did not say a word once the captain left the cockpit. ‘It was absolute silence in the cockpit,’ M. Robin said.

He added that he appeared to want to ‘destroy the plane’, according to the black box recording.

Mr Robin: ‘The co-pilot is alone at the controls. He voluntarily refused to open the door of the cockpit to the pilot and voluntarily began the descent of the plane.’

Rest of article

Horrible and they'll never have a reason as to why he did this.

 

[Dee]

Given all the details, it really does sound like a suicide by plane kind of thing, that or a medical condition or terrorism, but as far as I know there is no strong evidence pointing toward any of those at this point. It just is a terrible thing to think that over 100 people had to die because of what the co-pilot did.

 

[DrLeftover]

That is more terrifying than all previous terrorist attacks.

And the fact that the flight crew of the Malaysian plane may have done the same thing just underscores it.

NOT EVERY PLANE has a terrorist on board.

But every one has a pilot and co-pilot.

 

[mrldii]

The one incongruity in all the speculation that's jumped out at me, is the statement that the co-pilot's breathing remained steady and constant throughout the descent.

That almost suggests he'd passed out and was not aware of what was going on.


However, it's been reported that the descent was a controlled one, which suggests that the co-pilot DID deliberately set it to descend, rather than he simply passed out and couldn't respond to the pilot's knocks to get back in.


Regardless of any other factor - whether you believe what you're doing is necessary to fulfill a religious dictate and 72 virgins (hopefully female) await you or to satisfy a personal death wish, your breathing IS going to accelerate, no?

 

[Evil Eye]

Well damn.

That is more terrifying than all previous terrorist attacks.

Yeah. I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

It was terrorism! I am very sure as the 150 people were screaming and crying knew they were going to die were very terrorized. But it will be interesting to see what comes out on this guy in the coming weeks.

 

[seasidemike]

His actions are no different than someone strapping on a vest of explosives and blowing themselves up in market place. It is murder, on a massive scale.

 

[Jazzy]

More Information

The pilot who crashed a plane in the French Alps had received a sick note from doctors showing he suffered a health condition that would have prevented him flying the day of the crash, which he apparently hid from his employer, German prosecutors said.

"Documents with medical contents were confiscated that point towards an existing illness and corresponding treatment by doctors," said the prosecutors' office in Duesseldorf, where the co-pilot lived and where the doomed flight from Barcelona was heading.

"The fact there are sick notes saying he was unable to work, among other things, that were found torn up, which were recent and even from the day of the crime, support the assumption based on the preliminary examination that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and his professional colleagues," the German prosecutors said.

The documents were found in searches of Lubitz's homes in Duesseldorf and in the town of Montabaur in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Reports in German media suggested that Lubitz had suffered from depression in the past, and that his employer would have been aware of his history.

Germany's Bild newspaper reported on Friday that Lubitz had suffered from depression during a period when he broke off his training six years ago. It said he spent over a year in psychiatric treatment.

Bild, citing internal documents forwarded by Lufthansa's Aero Medical Center to German authorities, reported that Lubitz had suffered from depression and anxiety, and had been judged to have suffered a "serious depressive episode" around the time he suspended his training.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged patience on Friday but said the German airline had an obligation to share all information on Lubitz with investigators.

"We must wait for the end of the inquiry. I am careful when there is a judicial inquiry, but everything points to a criminal, mad, suicidal action that we cannot comprehend," Valls told iTELE.

Rest of article

 

[DrLeftover]

more

Torn-up sick notes show crash pilot should have been grounded

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/us-france-crash-idUSKBN0MN11N20150327

 

[Webster]

The Guardian: Co-Pilot Hid Illness From Employer
Excerpt...

Investigators searching the Düsseldorf apartment of the co-pilot on the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday have found evidence he hid an illness from his employers, prosecutors said on Friday. The evidence is a torn-up doctors’ note, signing him off work on the day of the crash. “Medical documents were found that indicate an ongoing illness and suitable medical treatment,” Düsseldorf prosecutors said in a statement.

“The circumstance that torn-up current medical certificates – also pertaining to the day of the act – were found, supports, after preliminary examination, the assumption that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and his professional circles. Investigations as well as the assessment of the medical treatment documents will take some days. As soon as reliable findings emerge, we will inform relatives and the public.” No suicide note or claim of responsibility has been found, the prosecutors said.

Germanwings said later that the company had not been aware of Lubitz’s sicknote. “Germanwings would like to clarify that no medical note was presented to the firm for this day,” it said in a statement.

The investigation into the crash has turned to the background of the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, following the disclosure on Thursday that he appeared to have deliberately downed the plane in a rocky ravine. Investigators are looking for clues as to why Lubitz, who was 27, may have wanted to take his own life – and to kill 149 other people as he did so.