PLane carrying German passenger crashes in France

[R.K. Locke]

Hmmmm.

Spokesman for the investigative team of Germanwings Airbus crash stated that information about written evidence being found during searches, published by British tabloids, is not true.

BERLIN (Sputnik) German police rejected media claims on Friday that they had found evidence proving that the co-pilot of the crashed Germanwings plane had planned his suicide. "Information about written evidence being found during searches, published today by British tabloids, is not true," a spokesman for the investigative team told reporters.

The spokesman added that the police had gathered evidence in the home of the co-pilot, which will be further investigated, though refrained from providing further details.

The Airbus A320 of Lufthansa's low-cost airline Germanwings crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday. There were 150 people on board the plane, including 6 crew and 144 passengers. There are no survivors. On Thursday, a French prosecutor asserted that according to data from the aircraft's first black box, the captain left the cockpit to visit the toilet, and the co-pilot then locked the captain out.

The co-pilot is said to have showed no signs of panic and is deemed to have been conscious while he was alone in the cockpit. The prosecutor said that the passengers were unaware of the situation on board until the very last minute.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said later on Thursday the company believed the plane crash was deliberate. He added that Germanwings pilots did not undergo regular psychological evaluations and only took a psychological test during training.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150327/1...z3VdeGv88Z

It makes you wonder why the British press ran with that story. I also don't think he committed suicide. I seem to remember from an earlier post that his breathing was even throughout, according to the recording from the black box. I really doubt this would be the case if he were contemplating suicide. But if it wasn't suicide or planned then why lock the pilot out? Why slowly loose height and ram straight into the mountainside?

The whole event is truly strange.

A remote hijacking is the only thing that makes sense to me. If the co-pilot pre-planned this then how did he know that the pilot would leave the cockpit at all during the flight? Barcelona to Dusseldorf is only a couple of hours. Would a pilot always leave the cockpit at least one during a flight this short? I don't know, but it seems like a strange thing to rely upon. Plus there is the matter of the even breathing, the lack of a suicide note, the (apparent) lack of any kind of motive for taking 100+ people with him.

Very troubling.

[R.K. Locke]

FWIW:

http://news.aviation-safety.net/2013/12/...t-suicide/


Via:

http://time.com/3756610/germanwings-crash-safety-a320/

[Albert Doyle]

Why slowly loose height and ram straight into the mountainside?

The whole event is truly strange.

Because the Airbus computer would detect an erroneous flight pattern and try to automatically adjust to prevent it if a steeper dive were attempted. A flight computer-entered descent would be something the computer would allow as being deliberately inputted by the pilot.


.

[Peter Lemkin]

NYT and Bild are reporting that his illness was his eyesight [and occasional depression]; he was losing his eyesight - which is a sure disqualifier for a pilot past a certain point...they are not even allowed to wear glasses...and maybe this was worse than that...didn't say. Also Bild is reporting that he told his girlfriend he 'might do something BIG, so everyone would remember me'. Just reporting the reporting...not saying I trust it.....

[Albert Doyle]

I wonder if his breathing and heartbeat increased as he saw the mountain approaching?

[Peter Lemkin]

Please keep in mind this is the MAIL from the UK!!!:

'Open the goddamn door!': Desperate final pleas of Germanwings captain emerge as black box transcript reveals Lubitz's repeated attempts to get pilot to go to toilet

• Lubitz tells captain Patrick Sondheimer he can go to the toilet at any time
  
• Tells the captain he will take over controls and later says 'you can go now'
  
• Shortly afterwards there is loud bang, like someone trying to enter cockpit
  
• Sondheimer yells: For God's sake, open the door!' and passengers scream
  

By ALLAN HALL FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY and AMANDA WILLIAMS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 01:52 GMT, 29 March 2015 | UPDATED: 13:32 GMT, 29 March 2015


Dramatic recordings from the Germanwings flight's black box have revealed the captain's desperate attempts to break into the cockpit to regain control of the plane.
According to transcripts published today, captain Patrick Sondheimer screamed Open the goddamn door!' as his killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately flew the aircraft into an Alpine ravine after he had left to go to the toilet.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Lubitz was living 'on the edge' because he feared that his deteriorating blurred vision would cost him his pilot's licence.
Scroll down for video


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Captain Patrick Sondheimer is heard with co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, pictured, who tells him he can go to the toilet at any time and he will take over the controls, noting that the pilot didn't go to the lavatory in Barcelona



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Investigation: Reports emerged that police searching the pilot's flat had found a 'small mountain of pills' and he had apparently been refusing to take his antidepressants medication. Above, Lubitz in 2013


Lubitz is believed to have locked his captain out after the senior officer left the flight deck, and used the flight managing system to put the plane into a descent, something that can only be done manually - and deliberately.
A transcript published in today's edition of the German newspaper Bild, reveals that the chilling recording starts with captain Sondheimer apologising to passengers for a 26-minute delay in Barcelona, and promising to make up the time on the flight to Dusseldorf.





In the next 20 minutes, Sondheimer converses with co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who tells him he can go to the toilet at any time and he will take over the controls, noting that the pilot didn't go to the lavatory in Barcelona.
At 10.27am, the airliner reaches its cruising altitude of 38,000ft. The pilot prompts his first officer to prepare for the landing in Dusseldorf.
The French prosecutors described Lubitz's replies as laconic', and he is heard using words such as hopefully' and we'll see'.
After the checks for landing, Lubitz says to Sondheimer again: You can go now.'

In the cockpit: Simple controls enabled Lubitz to lock pilot out









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Lubitz was sitting in this cockpit, pictured, when he commanded the jet to crash into the Alps at 400mph



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The pilot lets another two minutes elapse, then he says to Lubitz: You can take over.'
There is the sound of a seat being pushed back and the snap of a door.
At 10.29am the flight radar monitors the plane descending.
At 10.30am it is down by 316ft, and just a minute later, it is down 1,800ft. At 10.32am air traffic controllers try to contact the aircraft, but get no response.
In the plane, the automatic alarm signal Sink Rate' sounds almost at the same time, according to the voice recorder.



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Dramatic recordings from the Germanwings flight's black box have revealed the captain's desperate attempts to break into the cockpit to regain control of the plane

Shortly afterwards there is a loud bang, which sounds like someone trying to enter the cockpit. Sondheimer yells: For God's sake, open the door!'
In the background, passengers can be heard screaming.
At 10.35am loud, metallic banging against the cockpit door' is heard again, according to the French authorities. The jet is still 7,000ft above the ground.
About 90 seconds later there is a new warning message Ground! Pull up! Pull up!'
The pilot is heard shouting: Open the goddamn door!'
At 10.38am, with its engines racing, the aircraft is on a north-east course over the French Alps. The breathing of Lubitz can be heard in the cockpit but he says nothing.


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Access to the cockpit door on the Germanwings Airbus A320 (like the one above) can be disabled from inside the flight deck to prevent hijacking

At 10.40am the aircraft hits the mountainside with its right wing. The last sounds are more screams from passengers.
It is believed that Sondheimer resorted to using a crowbar to try and get through the armoured panel as the plane plunged fatally towards the Alps.
German newspaper Bild yesterday reported that he had attempted to use an axe, and a Germanwings spokesman confirmed that such a tool was on board the aircraft.
But the only axe on the plane would have been in the cockpit, meaning it was out of reach of the captain.
It has emerged that Lubitz once planned to marry his long-term girlfriend but she broke off the relationship because his Jekyll and Hyde personality left her fearing for her safety, it was claimed.
The woman, named as teacher Kathrin Goldbach, is understood to have called time on Lubitz's increasingly erratic and controlling behaviour just weeks before the Germanwings crash.
Reports emerged that police searching the pilot's flat had found a 'small mountain of pills' and he had apparently been refusing to take his antidepressants medication.
Miss Goldbach still lived with Lubitz, 27, but it is understood she was on the lookout for a flat after being driven away by his need to be in charge. He even tried to tell her what to wear, friends said.
While outwardly confident, his hidden insecurity demanded constant attention which led him to betray Kathrin with a five-month fling with a Germanwings stewardess conducted in cheap hotels.
But she, too, is believed to have ended her relationship after growing fearful of the 'tormented and erratic' Lubitz.
At an extraordinary press conference, Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin gave a disturbing account of the cockpit voice recordings extracted from black box. He said Lubitz locked his captain out after the senior officer left the flight deck.
He said: 'The intention was to destroy the plane. Death was instant. The plane hit the mountain at 700kmh (430mph).
'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'.
Referring to Lubitz, Mr Robin said: 'He did this for a reason which we don't know why, but we can only deduct that he destroyed this plane. We have asked for information from the German investigation on both his profession and personal background'.

[Albert Doyle]

The ultimate revenge against the company is possible here.

[Michael Barwell]

Couple of days to read the voice recordings; I wonder what's on the MH17 data recorder.

We're not being told. In fact, the US had satellites over Ukraine at the time and haven't released a single bit of evidence.

Yeah, what struck me regards the Ukraine reportage, was all the rocket artillery barrages on the news, and the reports of civilian casualties, but no reports of whose rockets they were, and where they were headed, and all those satellites with their infra-red and visible light sensing capability. Seems fairly obvious there was an intel-to-news feed stoppage.

[R.K. Locke]

A more sceptical view here:

https://willyloman.wordpress.com/2015/03...om-casing/

https://willyloman.wordpress.com/2015/03...-is-bogus/


As usual, make of it what you will. There are still many more questions than answers with this one.

[R.K. Locke]

Latest from the BBC:

Germanwings crash video 'must be handed to investigators'


6 hours ago


A lead investigator into the Germanwings crash has called for anyone with footage of the disaster to hand it over to the authorities.

French prosecutor Brice Robin said he was not aware of a video, reported by German and French media, showing the last seconds before the crash.

Bild and Paris Match said on Tuesday they had mobile phone footage from inside the plane.

Airline bosses spoke of their regret on a visit to the crash site on Wednesday.

Their statement comes amid mounting questions about how much the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz's employers knew about his mental health after it emerged he had disclosed a previous bout of "severe depression".


A recording from the cockpit of the aircraft suggests Lubitz, 27, deliberately caused the disaster, killing all 150 on board.

'Sound of screaming'

Mr Robin said investigators were not yet examining mobile phones found at the crash site, and he was not aware of footage from phones having been recovered.

German newspaper Bild and French news magazine Paris Match said they had obtained a video which recorded the sound of passengers screaming and the sound of a metal object striking the cockpit door.

A French rescue worker inspects the remains of the Germanwings Airbus A320 at the site of the crash

Mobile phones found at the crash site have not yet been analysed, officials say

Anyone with footage "must hand it over immediately to investigators," AFP news agency quoted the French prosecutor as saying on Wednesday.

'Place of mourning'

Thomas Winkelmann, chief executive of Germanwings, and Carsten Spohr, head of the parent company Lufthansa, visited Seyne-les-Alpes on Wednesday to inspect recovery operations based there.

The Lufthansa boss said it would take a "long, long time" for investigators to establish the cause of the crash, and said "we're sorry" over the disaster.


"We are very, very sorry for the losses that have occurred"

Thanking rescue workers and local residents, Mr Spohr said: "Everybody at Lufthansa knows how hard this work has been... We are very grateful."

"We know the burden that has been put on this area, where nothing is the same anymore.

"We will do everything we can to turn this place into a place of mourning for relatives of the victims, and to restore this beautiful countryside."

They laid a wreath at a memorial to those killed but refused to take questions from journalists about the investigation.

Mr Spohr had previously said that Lufthansa was not aware of anything that could have driven the co-pilot to crash the Airbus A320.