Germanwings Plane Crash: Co-Pilot Reportedly 'Wanted to Destroy the Aircraft,' Locked Pilot Out
The Germanwings flight that crashed into the French Alps Tuesday may not have been an accident, according to reports.
Investigators have gathered information on the crash, which suggests the co-pilot of the plane purposely brought the plane down, killing all 150 people aboard, CNN reports.
According to Marseilles prosecutor Brice Robin, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz "wanted to destroy the aircraft."
Lufthansa, the company that owns Germanwings, is "speechless that this aircraft has been deliberately crashed by the co-pilot," CEO Carsten Spohr said.
Robin does not know if the co-pilot planned his actions in advance, but the co-pilot was able to take advantage of a time when the pilot left the cockpit.
Robin said that screaming could be heard on the audio recording in its last few minutes. He also said that when the plane crashed, death was instantaneous.
The description of the horrific crash seemed to leave the prosecutor at a loss for words. It will not be described as a "terrorist attack," and the killing of 150 people will not be described as a "suicide" either, Robin said.
Robin added that Lubitz was not known to be on any terrorist list and his religion was not known.
The plane's final minutes is being described by what can be heard on the heavily damaged cockpit voice recorder.
When alone in the cockpit, the co-pilot "activated the descent" of the plane, Robin said. This was something that has to be done deliberately, he added.
Robin 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 make the plane lose altitude.
The co-pilot was "fully qualified to pilot the aircraft on his own," Robin said. On the audio recording, his breathing seems steady with no signs of a heart attack or other medical condition.
The co-pilot had logged enough training and certifications to fly the plane on his own, the prosecutor said.
The bodies of the crash victims will not be released until all DNA identification work has been completed. That could take several weeks, Robin said.
Robin made sure to mention that all of the information he told to the families of the crash victims was the same he was telling reporters at the news conference. He said that all his conclusions on the crash were preliminary.
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