14 DAY TRIAL // This past Tuesday, an Airbus A320 plane crashed in the French Alps while en route from Barcelona, Spain, to Düsseldorf, Germany. The passengers and crew aboard all died on impact. The plane was operated by Germanwings, being wholly owned by air travel giant Lufthansa.
Recent news concerning the incident says that, rather than crash due to an engine fault or anything of the sorts, the Germanwings Airbus A320 plane was purposely flown into the French Alps by its co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz. The man's motives for crashing the plane remain unclear.
The pilot tried to save the passengers and crew
Evidence uncovered by the authorities investigating the crash indicates that, just minutes before the plane hit the French Alps, the pilot, identified as Patrick Sondenheimer, somehow got locked out of the cockpit. It is believed that it was co-pilot Andreas Lubitz who blocked the armored door.
During a press conference, French prosecutor Brice Robin said that, according to information provided by the plane's black box recorder, the pilot left the cockpit only for a short while, presumably to go to the toilet. When he returned, he found that he could not get in.
When the plane began its descend, the pilot yelled at Andreas Lubitz through the armored door, demanding that he let him in. He received no answer. Reports say that, in an attempt to save the passengers and crew, the pilot tried to use an axe to break open the cockpit's door.
When the plane crashed, the pilot was still locked out of the cockpit and Andreas Lubitz was the one in charge of the aircraft. Since he never tried to help the pilot get back in his seat or at least send a distress signal, it is believed that it was he who flew the Airbus A320 into the French Alps.
“The intention was to destroy the plane. Death was instant. I don't think that the passengers realised what was happening until the last moments because on the recording you only hear the screams in the final seconds,” prosecutor Brice Robin said in a statement, as cited by DM.
The co-pilot was ill, probably suffered from depression
Earlier today, it emerged that, while searching his apartment in Düsseldorf, Germany, authorities found evidence that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz was ill and wasn't even supposed to be on the job on the day of the crash. Thus, the search produced a note excusing the man from work on Tuesday, March 24.
The note, signed by a doctor, never left the co-pilot's apartment, The Guardian informs. This indicates that the man knowingly hid his illness from employer Germanwings. This is yet to be confirmed, but there are some rumors that Andreas Lubitz was on medication for depression.