LATEST:
- Co-pilot named as 28-year-old German Andreas Lubitz
- Captain was deliberately locked out of cockpit
- Co-pilot deliberately initiated descent
- Co-pilot seemed to "want to destroy the plane"
- Lufthansa insists incident was 'one-time, tragic' occurrence
Minister for Europe @DLidington signing the book of condolence for the victims of flight #4U9525.. pic.twitter.com/Q9hBqBzqrt
— GermanEmbassyLondon (@GermanEmbassy) March 26, 2015
Lufthansa-Chef #Spohr: Co-Pilot hatte Ausbildungsunterbrechung, war aber 100% flugtauglich. #Germanwings #4U9525 https://t.co/8rKpVi7WqP
— DIE WELT (@welt) March 26, 2015
El Rey se reunió con el Presidente del Gobierno, que le transmitió la información existente sobre el accidente aéreo pic.twitter.com/9PsGbgkPgZ
— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) March 26, 2015
14:09 - Police stationed outside house of co-pilot
According to reports in Germany police have been stationed outside the house of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz in Montabaur, in Rhineland region of western Germany.
His neighbours, who are naturally being inundated with calls from journalists are so far declining to talk about him.
14:01 - A profile on co-pilot Andreas Lubitz
Details continue to emerge about the 28-year-old pilot. Here is a profile of the man, who had 630 hours of experience under his belt and who was described by a friend as "rather quiet" but friendly.
(Photo: Twitter)
13:56 - Spanish PM shocked by findings
That press conference from the prosecutor in Marseille has shocked everyone who has been following the news of the crash. Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has said he is "deeply shocked" by the findings of the investigation.
13:42 - Pilot deliberately crashed the plane
Here's the latest write through from AFP
The co-pilot "deliberately" initiated the descent of the Germanwings flight that crashed into the French Alps and refused to open the door to the pilot who was outside the cockpit, the lead investigator said on Thursday.
The co-pilot, named as 28-year-old Andreas Lubitz, appeared to "show a desire to want to destroy" the plane, prosecutor Brice Robin told reporters.
"The co-pilot was alone at the controls," said Robin, presenting information gathered from the "black box" recorder that records sounds and conversations from the cockpit.
"He ... refused to open the door of the cockpit to the pilot and deliberately began the descent of the plane."
Lubitz was identified as a German citizen who was not known to have any links to terrorism or extremists, Robin said, adding that German authorities were expected to provide additional information on his background and private life later Thursday or Friday.
The co-pilot turned the "flight monitoring system" button to initiate the plane's descent and spoke "not a single word" during the last 10 minutes before the plane crashed.
The passengers were unaware of their imminent demise "until very last moment" and "died instantly", the prosecutor said.
He said screams could be heard on the recording only in the final seconds.
The recording showed that the pilot and co-pilot talked normally and "courteously" for the first 20 minutes of the flight after it took off from Barcelona.
"Then we hear the pilot ask the co-pilot to take the controls and a seat being pulled back and a door closing. We can assume he left to answer nature's call," said Robin.
"The co-pilot is left alone at the controls. We hear several calls from the pilot asking for entry into the cockpit. There is no response from the co-pilot."
Robin said there were "normal" breathing sounds from Lubitz throughout the rest of the flight that indicated he was conscious.
13:30 - Main points from press conference
The quest to find out what happened to the doomed Germanwings flight that crashed into the Alps has taken a dramatic twist after a French prosecutor revealed that the co-pilot purposefully locked the pilot out of the cockpit and initiated a descent of the plane.
After appearing to rule out a terrorist attack the likely scenario now is that the co-pilot, named Andreas Lubitz, from Germany, deliberately crashed the plane into the Alps.
FROM AFP: The co-pilot "voluntarily" initiated the descent of the Germanwings flight that crashed into the French Alps and refused to open the door to the pilot who was outside the cockpit, the lead investigator said on Thursday
"The co-pilot is alone at the controls," said prosecutor Brice Robin, recounting 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."
13:26 - Prosecutor says "passengers died instantly"
Brice Robin is being inundated with questions from the international media, often repeated questions around the same topic. He has stressed the passengers would have died instantly and that no indication that this was a terrorist attack.
13:13 - Co-pilot was 28 years old
French prosecutor revealing few more details about the co-pilot, but he has confirmed he as a German national named Andreas Lubitz, 28 years old. He had no terrorist profile. Other reports claim he joined Germanwings in 2013 and had a few hundred hours flying time under his belt.
13:10 - Passengers knew nothing until final moments
Germanwings victims were unaware of crash 'until very last moment' says French prosecutor Brice Robin.
13:08 - No terrorist profile
Co-pilot, named as Andreas Lubitz, did not have a terrorist profile, the prosecutor confirms.
13:05 - Prosecutor says no panic in cockpit
Brice Robin says there was no sense of panic in the cockpit. "The co-pilot was breathing normally".
13:03 - Co-pilot purposefully brought plane down
The co-pilot "voluntarily" initiated the descent of the Germanwings flight that crashed into the French Alps and refused to open the door to the pilot who was outside the cockpit, the lead investigator said on Thursday.
"The co-pilot is alone at the controls," said prosecutor Brice Robin, recounting 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."
13:02 - Co-pilot named as Andreas Lubitz, a German national
13:01 - Prosecutor Brice Robin says pilot was German
12:50 - Co-pilot did not speak one word from the cockpit
French prosecutor says the co-pilot did not utter one word whilst the plane descended towards the Alps. He could heard breathing, but he did not speak one word until the plane crashed.
12:45 - Co-pilot locked pilot out of cockpit
The prosecutor said the co-pilot was alone inside the cockpit and refused to allow the captain back in.
"I think he refused to open the door and turned the button to bring down the plane. It was a purposeful action on the part of the co-pilot. He is not known as a terrorist. Absolutely not.
BACKGROUND FROM EARLIER
One of the two pilots on a doomed Germanwings flight was locked out of the cockpit before the plane crashed in the French Alps, killing 150 people, a source close to the investigation told AFP Thursday, backing up an earlier report in the New York Times.
French newspaper Le Monde revealed later on Thursday that it was the captain, not the co-pilot, who was locked outside. The co-pilot had 630 hours of experience under his belt, compared to the ten years of experience for the pilot.
Cockpit recordings recovered from the crash site indicated one of the seats was pushed back and the door opened and closed, followed by the sound of knocking, said the source, adding "there was no more conversation from that point until the crash".
The source said an alarm indicating the proximity of the ground could be heard before the impact.
That followed an earlier report in the New York Times, who also quoted a source close to the investigation who had also heard the recordings.
According to the New York Times one of the pilots was left trying to smash the door down but still failed to get back in, a report said on Wednesday.
The paper cited a senior military official involved in the investigation who had heard the cockpit voice recorder.
The official was quoted as saying that there was a "very smooth, very cool" conversation between the two pilots during the early part of the doomed flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf on Tuesday.
Then the audio indicated that one of the pilots left the cockpit and could not re-enter, the investigator said.
"The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door and there is no answer," the investigator told the newspaper. "And then he hits the door stronger and no answer. There is never an answer.
"You can hear he is trying to smash the door down."
The official, who requested anonymity because the investigation is continuing, told The New York Times: "We don't know yet the reason why one of the guys went out.
"But what is sure is that at the very end of the flight, the other pilot is alone, and does not open the door."
For their part Germanwings have not confirmed the reports based on information from sources. The prosecutor in Marseille, who is in charge of the case, is to give a press conference at around midday local time on Thursday.
Reacting to the news that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit, French aviation safety expert Christophe Naudin told The Local that it remains unclear whether someone else may have gained entry to the cockpit.
"We don't know whether the pilot left and was locked out or someone else entered the cockpit and locked him out," he said.
"What's troubling is that apparently we don't hear voices anymore once the door is locked."
Naudin said that once the cockpit door is locked it is impossible to gain access, even with the code.
Reinforced cockpit doors were installed on all planes at the behest of the US in the aftermath of 9/11.
"This case could show that having reinforced doors does not necessarily increase security and safety on airplanes," Naudin said.
The recording showed the pilots speaking normally and in German at the start of Flight 4U9525 early Tuesday. The source could not say if it was the captain or the first officer who had left the cockpit.
The cockpit voice recorder was found late Tuesday, several hours after the crash of the budget flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, and the data analysed Wednesday afternoon.
The Airbus A320 suddenly began a fatal eight-minute descent shortly after reaching cruising altitude.
No distress signal was sent and the crew failed to respond to desperate attempts at contact from ground control.
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