Posted on 03/26/2015 6:30:57 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
The German co-pilot who deliberately flew a Germanwings flight into the French Alps has been named as Andreas Lubitz, who was aged 28. Prosecutors said information suggested he was fully conscious as the plane went down.
"The co-pilot is alone at the controls," prosecutor Brice Robin said, drawing on information gathered from the black box recorder. "He voluntarily refused to open the door of the cockpit to the pilot and voluntarily began the descent of the plane."
Details of Lubitz's life are still emerging, with investigators confirming he did not have any known terrorist links. According to the website of the flight club where he was a member, the co-pilot was from Montabaur in Rhineland Palatinate.
German media reports he had 630 flight hours and joined budget airline Germanwings straight out of Lufthansa Flight Training School in Bremen in September 2013. Authorities have not confirmed if he had any experience as a professional pilot prior to that.
In 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration recognized Lubitz for "meeting and exceeding" the "high educational, licensing and medical standards" established by the body, which regulates civil aviation, reports the Aviation Business Gazette.
The FAA said that the certification standards have evolved to "reduce pilot errors that lead to fatal crashes."
"Andreas became a member of the club as a youth to fulfil his dream of flying," the LSC club said in a death notice on its website.
"He fulfilled his dream, the dream he now paid for so dearly with his life," the club said, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Montabaur city mayor Gabriele Wieland, speaking to the DPA press agency, said Lubitz lived with his parents in Montabaur and also had a residence in Dusseldorf, where the Germanwings flight was heading before it crashed.
French authorities said his family had left Marseille, where a press conference was held earlier on 26 March. His Facebook page lists his interests as aviation and music.
Information from the black box recorder of the flight, which crashed on 24 March and killed 150 people, indicated Lubitz was alone in the cockpit, and intentionally started a descent while the other co-pilot was locked out.
The Airbus 320 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf hit a mountain near Barcelonette in the French Alps, after an eight-minute descent.
Muzzie is as muzzie does.
1) Fight with lover
2) Cray-cray
3) Recent Koran study.
Time will tell.
If something like that happened, I'm sure his body has been properly disposed of and will never be found.
“straight out of Lufthansa Flight Training School in Bremen “
Wasn’t there some ISIS Terror incident in Bremen in the last few weeks?
Can’t tell by looks. Dark hair and eyes are actually common among Germans. I had a German uncle who was darker than my Italian mother.
Whether he was a Muslim convert, I’m going to guess we will never know. Seems there has been a lot of secrecy and evasion since this tragedy happened and I don’t see anyone being all that forthcoming now. If I was a family member of one of those killed, I’d be demanding answers.
It’s also entirely possible that there was a sensor malfunction that caused the flight computer to put the aircraft into a controlled descent. They had reached their cruising altitude and the autopilot was most likely engaged. Without the flight data recorder it is impossible to know for sure, though. Jumping to the conclusion that this was an intentional act to down the aircraft seems very premature, given what is known. Then again, France has a vested interest in this being anything but another Airbus sensor failure related crash. At least two previous Airbus crashes have been attributed to sensors reporting false data to the fligth computer. One was a pitot tube that froze up and gave false airspeed information. The other was an angle of attack indicator which sent bogus data to the flight computer because it had been damaged by water that got in the sensor when the aircraft was washed. It later froze when the aircraft reached an altitude where the ambient temerpature was below freezing. In both incidences the flight computer lowered the nose. A low time pilot may very well have become disoriented and panicked when he realized he didn’t have control of the aircraft, even with the autopilot turned off. I know several pilots typed in the Airbus A320 and none of them like it because of the tendency of the flight computer to “adjust” the flight parameters, even with the autopilot off.
MAANNNNYYY Algerians (Algerians = Muslims) in Marseille!
“Why was his family in Marseille? That is practically a muslim enclave in France these days. This is a red flag”
Marseille is near the crash site. All the families have been gathering there. His, too, apparently - before it became known that he was the likely cause.
I had that thought today too. I doubt we will ever get the whole story behind this.
If his body is found somewhere, it will likely be near the place the flight departed as origination for the day of flying. And we might wonder if any of the flight crew knew him by sight, since someone may have taken his place using his ID.
My understanding is that it would take a deliberate sequence of actions to take the plane off autopilot.
HOW ACCESS TO THE COCKPIT DOOR CAN BE DISABLED FROM THE INSIDE
Access to the cockpit door on the Germanwings Airbus A320 (like the one above) can be disabled from inside the flight deck, raising speculation that one of the pilots deliberately locked the other out
+39
Access to the cockpit door on the Germanwings Airbus A320 (like the one above) can be disabled from inside the flight deck, raising speculation that one of the pilots deliberately locked the other out
The Airbus A320 is fitted with a locking mechanism to prevent unauthorised access to the flight deck while the aircraft is in flight.
The safety systems were improved in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks where hijackers were able to gain access to the cockpit and take over the aircraft.
In normal flight, the door to the flight is closed and locked.
Cabin crew can use a code and gain access to the flight deck. Entry is controlled by the flight crew, in case of a possible hijack attempt.
The Cockpit Door Locking System (CDLS) according to the flight manual ‘provides a means of electrically locking and unlocking the cockpit door’.
The CDLS is located in the central pedestal between both pilots and has a toggle switch which controls the door.
They also have a CCTV camera so they can see who is seeking access, and if they are under any form of duress.
Pilots can restrict access to the flight deck although cabin crew can gain entry in an emergency. However, this emergency access can be over-ridden by the pilot for between five to 20 minutes.
The limited time to keep the door closed is itself a safety feature, in case the flight crew become incapacitated - known in the industry as ‘incap’.
After the predeterminted time, the keypad on the outside of the cockpit door will become operational again, unless the pilot actively restricts access again.
Also the cockpit door has several other safety features in case of a sudden decompression which will cause the door to open.
According to the flight manual there are ‘routine’ and ‘emergency’ access requests.
‘The toggle switch enables the flight crew to lock or unlock the cockpit door, following an access request, thereby allowing or denying the entry to the cockpit.’
If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, then I think if that had happened his body will never be found.
My BS meter is quivering. Way to early to point fingers at anyone.
>http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/germany-several-arrested-bremen-following-islamist-terror-threat-1489933<
“Germany: Several arrested in Bremen following Islamist terror threat”
“with investigators confirming he did not have any known terrorist links.”
Are there pilots out there that do have known terrorist links?
Think we need to keep in mind that pilot credentials can be stolen; see the link below. If no one knew this copilot on sight, perhaps he was killed and his stolen ID used by a flight trained terrorist. One of the passengers worked for a company doing satellite intelligence.
Followers of Mad Mo come from ALL (as in every single one, without exception) discernible ethnic groups. It's a grave mistake to think that they're all Arabs.
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.