Posted on 03/26/2015 5:10:37 AM PDT by KeyLargo
What we know so far about the pilot and co-pilot of Germanwings FL 4U9525; Update: French prosecutor says co-pilot intentionally destroyed the airplane Posted at 7:17 am on March 26, 2015 by Twitchy Staff
After last night’s bombshell report from the New York Times alleging that either the co-pilot or pilot had been locked out of the cockpit of Germanwings flight 4U9525 immediately prior to its crash, many on Twitter are asking about the identity and nationality of the co-pilot and pilot.
However Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, won’t tell us. From the AP:
Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr described the pilots as “experienced and trained” in a press conference in Barcelona Wednesday night.
Lufthansa has refused to identify the pilots, or give details of ages and nationality, but it said the co-pilot joined Germanwings in September 2013, directly after training, and had flown 630 hours.
The captain had more than 6,000 hours of flying time and been Germanwings pilot since May 2014, having previously flown for Lufthansa and Condor, Lufthansa said.
But it looks like German media sources are reporting at least the first names of the pilots:
And Le Monde is reporting that it was the co-pilot who was locked out:
We’ll update this post as we learn more information.
Update. Here’s a video of the “cockpit door entry procedure” that explains how a pilot would be able to lock himself inside the cockpit:
Update 2. French prosecutors say co-pilot was at the controls:
His name is Andreas Lubitz. Convert? No praising of the Devil before descent.
Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr described the pilots as “experienced and trained”
That’s what people are afraid of...
A Purser’S Airbus Cockpit EMERGENCY Access Procedure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHxv7bsqbxA
“Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, a 28-year-old German national, was silent ...”
“experienced and trained”
...by a local Imam.
/s/
IMHO
his parents must be real proud /sarc
Only to point out the obvious...thirty years ago, the vast number of pilots in a limited passenger world had some military background (US, Japan, Canada, France, UK, etc). Flight service boomed in the 80s and 90s, throughout the world.
Airlines are pretty much left to a very small group of folks to recruit from now. You need to pass the physical and have your certification. Beyond that...there’s not much of a mental exam or check-out.
In this case, we probably won’t find one single bit of evidence leading to some Muslim ideology...so we end up with some nutcase who they hired and simply didn’t review for any mental issues.
This would lead you to this prospective....how many more nutcases are there...out of 100,000 pilots around the civilized world? One, five, twenty? At some point, you start to question your life and the trust you might put in some airline to safely get you from point A to point B.
This appears....so far....to be a suicide of a non-muslim.
“His name is Andreas Lubitz. Convert?”
Maybe. Or just a guy with a death wish.
Passengers should demand to know religion of pilots and crew before boarding. Then if any are Muslim they can refuse to fly.
Actually a suicide/mass murder. He could have jumped off an Alp and saved a lot of lives. Why didn’t he?
Why would we not assume that the flight attendant called the pilot out, entered the cockpit and killed the other co-pilot and crashed the plane?
He was mean.
Which probably means whoever was in the cockpit was blocking it from unlocking.
It may well be that this guy was just a fruitcup that went over the edge and decided to end it all and take 150 or so others with him. Pretty awful.
Co-P needs to be officially declared a murderer and his home needs to be secured ASAP.
Hope its not considered work place violence?
Who would expect someone named “Keith Ellison” to be a Muslim?
What about someone named “Andreas Lubitz”?
630 hours in that type of aircraft isn’t squat.
“Passengers should demand to know religion of pilots...”
It would also be nice to know it either of the pilots were suicidal......
On another note: Back in the 70s when airlines made the decision to bring the cockpit crew minimum from 3 to 2, this problem was foreseen by many as a recipe for disaster. Bottom dollar wins again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.