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THE CAPTAIN OF a passenger jet that investigators believe was deliberately crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, shouted at the co-pilot to “open the damn door” as he desperately tried to get back into the locked cockpit, a German newspaper reported.
French officials say the plane’s black box voice recorder indicates that Andreas Lubitz, 27, locked the captain out of the cockpit of the Germanwings jet and steered Flight 4U 9525 into a mountainside.
They believe that the more senior pilot, identified by Germany’s Bild newspaper as Patrick S, tried desperately to reopen the door during the Barcelona to Duesseldorf flight’s eight-minute descent after he left to use the toilet.
The mass-circulation’s Sunday edition reported that data from the cockpit recorder showed the captain shouted: “For God’s sake, open the door”, as passengers’ screams could be heard in the background.
It said “loud metallic blows” against the cockpit door could then be heard, before another warning alarm went off and then the pilot is heard to scream to a silent Lubitz in the cockpit “open the damn door”.
Bild said that earlier on in Tuesday’s flight the captain was heard explaining to his colleague that he had not had time to go to the toilet before take-off.
As investigators seek to build up a picture of Lubitz and any possible motives, media reports have emerged that he suffered from eye problems, adding to earlier reports he was severely depressed.
German prosecutors believe Lubitz hid an illness from his airline but have not specified the ailment, and said he had apparently been written off sick on the day the Airbus crashed.
‘Sight problem’
The Sunday edition of Germany’s Bild tabloid and the New York Times, which cited two officials with knowledge of the investigation, said Lubitz had sought treatment for problems with his sight.
It is thought to be a retinal detachment, the German weekly said.
It also reported that Lubitz’s girlfriend with whom he lived in the western city of Duesseldorf was believed to be pregnant.
It gave no sources but said the teacher, who taught maths and English, had told pupils a few weeks ago she was expecting a baby.
Bild’s Saturday edition had published an interview with a flight attendant who it said had had a relationship last year with Lubitz and recalled him saying: “One day I’m going to do something that will change the whole system, and everyone will know my name and remember.”
If Lubitz did deliberately crash the plane, it was “because he understood that because of his health problems, his big dream of a job at Lufthansa, of a job as captain and as a long-haul pilot was practically impossible”, the woman told Bild.
German prosecutors revealed Friday that searches of Lubitz’s homes netted “medical documents that suggest an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment”, including “torn-up and current sick leave notes, among them one covering the day of the crash”.
Police have found a number “of medicines for the treatment of psychological illness” during a search at his Duesseldorf home, Welt am Sonntag newspaper said.
It added that the Germanwings co-pilot was suffering from being overstressed and was severely depressive, according to personal notes found.
Search for second black box
French police investigator Jean-Pierre Michel told AFP yesterday that Lubitz’s personality was a “serious lead” in the inquiry but not the only one.
The investigation has so far not turned up a “particular element” in the co-pilot’s life which could explain his alleged action, he said.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said that Lubitz had suspended his pilot training, which began in 2008, “for a certain period”, before restarting and qualifying for the Airbus A320 in 2013.
The second-in-command had passed all psychological tests required for training, Spohr told reporters.
Germany is to hold a national memorial ceremony on April 17 for the victims of the disaster, half of whom were German, with Spain accounting for at least 50 and the remainder composed of more than a dozen other nationalities.
Meanwhile, helicopters resumed search operations at the crash zone in southeastern France for a sixth day early yesterday, an AFP reporter saw, as efforts to comb the area for the victims’ remains and a second black box continue.
“There’s no reason not to find the second black box,” French investigator Xavier Vialenc told AFP yesterday.
- © AFP 2015.
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feels really sad for the helpless pilot, must have been a difficult moment for him and all onboard the flight..lessons learned by hard way..
Exactly and now Alls that being bandied about is more scare mongering against people with mental health difficulties and how they are so irrational and like ticking time bombs.. Which only serves to drag any progress made in the acceptance of mental health back by about 10 years
@Jason, our emphasis must be on helping the people with the mental health issues to come out freely rather than suffer with it or take a drastic steps and prevent further loss of lives including their own.
Surely the biggest lesson is to have direct contact between airlines and doctors of the pilots. Ridiculous that the doctor gave sicknotes to the co-pilot who he knew was mentally ill and expected him to give them to his employer.
I would agree with Jason all those reports about the guy being mentally hill are just drowning back slow and hard progress on changing people mentality . The co pilote didn’t come forward and express his feelings because he probably was afraid he will loose his dream job never mind the prospect of flying Lufthansa. If there is someone else like him out their he certainly won’t come out talk and sick help after all that noise and bashing down . Tragic story nonetheless may all of them rest in peace and family be let alone to grieve
He was right, he would have lost his job had he come forward with his mental health issues.
Rightly so, as it turned out.
guys…he lost his own life along with 149 others, as well as job now…
He didn’t ‘lose’ his own life, he took it, along with another 149 other innocent lives.
If his comments last year are accurate, it’s completely feasible that he had pre planned something like this…. Mentally ill or not, that’s mass murder
Slight understatement
@ Derek Mahon
Just because someone is “mentally ill” does not mean they don’t have capacity to make decisions for themselves.
If you have an episode of mental illness – should your doctor be allowed to tell your employer just like that ?
If he had an issue with his eye sight that should have been picked up on his yearly medical,And depending what the condition was his Class 1 medical would have been revoked which means he could not fly until he sorted out his eye sight.
My class 1 medical states that I have to wear glasses while flying, And I am required to do certain tests in order to revalidate the medical.
Retinal detachment is mentioned in the article. If true, then it can happen at any time- much like stroke. Might explain why it wasn’t picked up
The reasons are all over the place on why he did it. I do not believe he did it due to depression as he suffered from it before. He knew what it was like, managed to deal with it and the plane company let him have time off until he was ready to go back to work. There was something else wrong here. I read that he was unfit to fly and had a serious eye issue. The one condition, retinitis pigmentosa, would definitely make you lose your job. As far as I know, it is an inherited condition. There was a possibility he was going to lose his job. Time will tell as the investigation continues.
Are you seriously saying that he deliberately crashed the plane into the mountain because of his eye condition, and not because of his mental ill-health?
Here’s a thought, maybe he was just a f.uckin as.hole!
I put this co-pilot in the same drawer as someone who runs amok and shoots dozens of people and then finally themselves, a criminally insane mass murderer.
It has nothing to do with suffering from depression, as people who suffer from depression are not more likely to start committing mass murder than anyone else.
The lad clearly wasn’t in a fit frame of mind, very sad outcome.. As much as we need to watch out for each other, I feel the onus is on the person to feel comfortable enough in the knowledge that speaking out saying something is wrong is probably the best days work they could ever in their lives do, and to have that backing from aviation authorities
I understand that the locking mechanisn is to prevent any unauthorised personnel from getting but there should be a system to allow the pilots to enter at any time. Maybe a key?????
A key that can be taken off the pilot and used by terrorists. Yeah, wonder why they haven’t thought of that one yet??
Why couldn’t it be over rided from the ground in an emergency
I didnt necessarily mean a key. My point was that SOME system needs to be in place.
@ Dar Ryl: They don’t want to use a system like that in case it’s hacked by terrorists.
Bob, how would terrorists take a key off a pilot when he’s behind a locked door in the cockpit?
@Dublinlad
Even pilots need to use the loo, and even though it might be unlikely, but the possibility exists that terrorist then take the pilot hostage and so gets access to the key that overrides the cockpit lockout, if this system was used.
I sincerely doubt that anything can be done to prevent a pilot from deliberately crashing a plane, even the two people at all time in the cockpit rule is not infallible
Heard the Irish airline piolets associate rep yesterday. He pointed out that this guy has been tried and found guilty before they have even found all the evidence. They have the black box recorder but not the actual black box which will tell them for sure what really went on. All we are seeing and reading is just here say and spin without the actual missing information. Don’t hang him without all evidence. Even Graham Dwyer had to be tried first.
The French Authorities, based on available hard evidence, would not be slow in confirming and pointing towards Pilot related issues.
After all Airbus, whilst a European JV, is actually located in France with ’000s employed.
So the rush to judgement, for reasons of self interest alone, is perfectly understandable.
Since it’s now an established fact that the co pilot deliberately neutralised captain’s capacity to input his code and re-enter flight deck, finding the Flight Data Recorder is hardly going to reveal anything significant.
That’s weird the way first black box found in a matter of hours . Second one still missing ? I mean thousand of personal on sight beeping signals , i know it’s in the mountains but it’s not like if its thousands feet under water
It’s such a sad case, and even though what the co pilot did was unforgivable and selfish in the extreme I don’t believe he was evil, the guy obviously had some serious mental health issues that should have been picked up by the airline and he should have never been Authorised to fly, sounds like he may have had a breakdown on the flight deck, only thing we know for sure is that it’s desperately sad for his family and the family’s of all those Innocent people on board, also the captain was heroic in his attempts to break down the door and save the plane. let’s hope they follow Aer Lingus and have two people on the flight deck to stop tragedies like this happening again.
Prescribed psychotropic drugs, including anti-depressants were found in his apartment, meaning that he had more than likely been exposed to them at some stage. Or was on them.
“Pilots Taking Antidepressants? The FAA Is Risking Our Lives” by Dr Peter Breggin ~
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-peter-breggin/antidepressants-pilots-ta_b_542240.html
Peter R. Breggin, MD – Antidepressants & Suicide – Congressional Testimony ~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBJfZtB_3cc
Germany initially banned the SSRI Prozac over a quarter of a century ago. You can hear Dr Peter Breggin talk about the Germans 2 mins into the congressional testimony.
‘Depression’ is usually a temporary condition that can be overcome. Pilots and people with such responsibility need help in managed stress and proper sleep. While many people can tolerate anti-depressants and not forgetting the placebo effect, a significant number of others cannot. Leading to tragedy.
{ Do not stop or change prescribed psychoactive drugs without talking to a good doctor, due to the dangers of withdrawal. For anyone in distress at the moment ~ Samaritans ~ 116 123 }
I don’t think his sight was that bad that he didn’t see the apla!
Reckon he found out his flying days were over for medical reasons, coupled with a history of depression. ….
We need to move on from this and stop with the hourly updates. It happened learn from it.
I disagree. First of all this was a terrible tragedy deserving of all the media coverage. Secondly it’s important it be known what exactly happened as the investigation progresses and thirdly changes will have to be made with pilot training and the requirement to have two pilots in the cockpit at all times etc moving forward.
We need to stop printing that murders name, he should be erased from history.
No Little Jim, murderers should not be erased from history, should we delete Hitler from history? The emphasis should almost always be on the victims.
Not their actions Ian, just their names.
There seems to be glory in infamy for some.
little Jim
the old Romans already tried “damnatio memoriae” on anyone who discredited the Roman State, did not work out particular well, as the most notorious cases are still known to this day.
As sh**e as it is, that this guy achieved the notoriety that he allegedly was looking for, it should not be forgotten that his actions killed 149 innocent people.
Tomorrow’s tabloid front pages: “Why was captain callowed to fly despite anger management problems?”
The way the pilot has been treated is disgusting. What he did was horrific but maybe if someone reached out to him sooner and gave him the help he needed this wouldn’t have happened.
He had help he was seeing a counsellor. Depression is no excuse for mass murder.
Nobody’s saying it’s an excuse, John, just that it’s an explanation.
This co-pilot had enough cognitive ability to plan ahead. To pilot a plane. He knew he would hurt a lot of people. Knew it.
If someone knows that they will hurt someone by taking an action, yet they still take that action, then that’s a sign that they are immoral decision makers, beyond the excuse of mental deficiency.
This person committed this atrocity because he had ideas. He may have needed psychiatric help, but no matter what his mental health – he needed his ideas to be argued with and he needed to be convinced – though conversation – that his actions were wrong.
Ya aidan I agree but I also think it’s upto the person to ask for help as opposed to someone reaching out as most often people will say ‘no I’m fine’ to avoid admission of something wrong.. I mean we can’t reach out to everyone every second of the day and equally these people could have similar control over the outcome of our lives on that day
The more I read about this tragedy I think the co pilot had thought about doing something like this but did not pre plan that particular day.
The fact that the pilot had not gone to the loo before they left, he left no note, and he appeared normal for the 1st part of the flight.
I just think he decided there and then, saw his opportunity,and went for it.
Aidan, your way off with your comment.
@ Jason
The pilot did reportedly ‘reach out’ for help, was reportedly certified as unfit to fly and he chose to fly anyway.
“One day I’m going to do something that will change the whole system, and everyone will know my name and remember.”
What system is he referring to? Did he say that a year ago? Was he planning this that long ago?
Kardia. It’s all speculation at this stage only he knows what was going on in his head. Printing something he said whenever is not helpful imo.
The information is helpful to individual readers who have a desire for information.
It’s not helpful if idiots suppose stuff, and make judgments that affect lives. The idiots are the problem and not the information.
And there’s nothing wrong with pondering in and of itself. And there’s nothing wrong with talking about your ideas. As long as you accept that they are ideas.
Hindsight is 20/20
Soon we’ll find out that in fairness he was demented and blind, but faked medical checks and got on the plane somehow, plot thickens! Whatever happened, I have serious concern that in 2015 there aren’t better in air security systems and there is no reliable cctv mechanism of any sort. Dublin bus have cameras yet airplanes don’t.
I’d say there is likelihood some passenger recorded whole thing on their smartphone and it’s matter of time when and if at all it could be found and data retrieved… Then we’ll find what really happened there.
With the likes of Ireland and the UK pilots have to go to a registered Aero medical cente to have their medicals done.
Not any doctor can carry out the medical tests as they have to be registered aero medical examiners under that countries aviation authority.
As for CCTV in planes I don’t see any benefits,The CVR (voice recorder ) and the FDR (Flight data recorder) record everything that the pilots input on the flight deck.
From speed to the direction the plane travels altitude etc.
@Dave
The advantage of CCTV would be a live feed of the things happening in the cockpit, though, unless there’d be some way to actually then actively remote control the plane somehow (a remote control, which could be used for all the wrong reasons as well), then the only benefit one would et from CCTV would be some immediate clarification about what went on in the cockpit in the last minutes before the crash.
And I sincerely doubt that the CCTV from Dublin Bus is live transmitted to some central somewhere, rather than just being recorded.
I don’t see anything in this eyesight story. It seems completely irrelevant to the crash. Poor eyesight doesn’t prevent you from verbally responding to screams and attempts by the Captain to break down the door with an axe.
Obviously eyesight problems could cut short his flight capabilities which could cause severe depression which is what we are being led to believe was the reason this happened.. Obviously eyesight had nothing to do with immediately affecting his ability to respond to screams of help but we can only hazard a guess as to maybe a nervous breakdown type scenario where I’m sure the sounds of screams or reason for that matter could not be comprehended
Alan, the only serious eye condition that will cut your career as a pilot was Retinitis pigmentosa. He may have had that. I do not believe this crash was caused by depression. There was something else wrong like some medical history or diagnosed with something that could stop his career completely. There are many reports coming in that he had some serious eye issue. The investigation should tell us more later on.
This eye issue could have seriously upsetted him and caused him to go off the edge. The whole thing was a tragedy.
Never would have guessed he’d say that.
Why do military planes that go around murdering people get ejector seats and passenger planes don’t?
Governments are spending trillions of dollars of our money and resources in war, defence flying people into space etc.
yet Joe Public are still flying on 30 year old planes based on 50 year old designs.
Surely some aviation techie company could design an ejector pod system that automatically activates in situations like these,
where the plane breaks into 4 different pods with 30-40 passengers in each one (according to the size of the plane.
I know that I would pay 4-5++ times the price of a flight for a service like that.
Plenty of Parachutes for killers and doomsday machines it seems but not for innocent men, women and children.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50cpPAVoxJQ
Something like this maybe
http://41.media.tumblr.com/90c108d9fcaabf1bd0eaf9b970e95319/tumblr_mqce9sf2es1qzsgg9o1_500.jpg
The load (85 Tons) parachuted out of that C-5B Military plane in the video above is heavier that the entire fully laden Airbus A320 (including passengers, baggage and fuel @ 78 tons) that crashed last week.
http://www.airbus.com/aircraftfamilies/passengeraircraft/a320family/a320/specifications/
He could have been in numerous flights before this one just waiting for a pilot who needed to leave the cockpit.
What can you say it hurts to read reports on this guy. All the what ifs. He was a coward if he wanted to end it all why not jump in front of a train or take an overdose. But killing all them people who he didn’t even know. This guy should have been monitored by the airline there culpable too.
Don’t let them put the covers over your eye s
Just checked the back of my License which stipulates that all holders of a Class 1 medical,Should be aware of the restrictions on the licence should the holder become ill.
Or that they need to go for invasive medical procedures etc,Only can a medic from the countries aviation authority give the all clear for a pilot to return to work.
@Dave
That’s all good and well, and I’m sure 99.99 % of pilots tell their employers about any issues / illnesses that may render them unfit to fly, but what happens if they don’t? That leads to something like here, and the doctor of this co-pilot is legally not allowed to share any information about their patient’s illnesses with the employer of their patient (Doctor – patient confidentiality, correct me if I’m wrong)
If a pilot has some medical condition that stops them legally from flying and if they don’t inform the Aviation authority,There is not much that can be done the onus is on the pilot to inform the airline and aviation authority of their medical condition.
Again with a normal GP I don’t know how they could get around to informing the patients employer as you said due to patient confidential.
As for CCTV on the buses it’s recorded and downloaded if need be there is no live feed from what I’ve been told,I know the SOP for one airline regarding flight deck crew needing to use the toilet and it seems to work.
Those 149 unfortunate people wouldn’t have died if the pilot had a piss before take off. Extraordinary!
He was a murderer end of ! No matter what his physical/mental health issues were, he murdered 150 people
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