Co-pilot crashed plane into Alps deliberately
The co-pilot of the Germanwings aircraft that crashed in the Alps killing 150 people deliberately started the plane’s final descent while the main pilot was out of the cockpit, investigators believe.
Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said as soon as the pilot left the cockpit, the door was closed and the German co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz (28), intitiated the plane’s descent.
Mr Robin said this could only have been done voluntarily.
“It appeared the co-pilot made the most of the pilot stepping out of the cockpit,” he said.
He told reporters that there was “no indication” of terrorism.
Mr Robin said the co-pilot appeared to ignore numerous messages from air controllers and also did not send any distress signals. He said the pilot could be heard repeatedly banging on the cockpit door, attempting to gain entry. He said the recordings indicate the co-pilot was breathing normally up until the point of impact.
He said in the final eight minutes of the flight, the aircraft descended from a height of 12,000m to 2,000m until it hit the mountain at a height of between 1,600m and 2,000m.
Mr Robin said the families of the co-pilot will be questioned by authorities .
He ruled out the possibility of the co-pilot falling unconscious or hitting the descent tool by accident - “I believe this was a voluntary action. If the co-pilot falls unconscious or his head hits the descent tool, it would at most only go a little bit. This took several turns”.
He said the most plausible explanation of the crash is that the co-pilot, “through deliberate abstention, refused to open the cabin door ... to the chief pilot, and used the button” to cause the plane to lose altitude.
Speaking of the minutes while the co-pilot was alone in the cockpit, the prosecutor said “in the cockpit he answered nothing, not a single word. It was total silence”.
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