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Andreas Lubitz, Germanwings Co-Pilot, ‘Was 100 Percent Flightworthy,’ Airline Says Andreas Lubitz, Germanwings Co-Pilot, Appeared ‘100 Percent Flightworthy,’ Airline Says
(35 minutes later)
The co-pilot accused of crashing the Germanwings jet into the French Alps on Tuesday was a 28-year-old German who worked for a brief time as an airline steward before landing a job in the cockpit, Lufthansa officials said. He was 27 years old, loved to fly and apparently set off no alarms or showed signs that he was troubled – or worse.
The co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, of the Rhineland town of Montabaur, was accepted into the pilot training program in 2008, said Carsten Spohr, head of Lufthansa, and joined Germanwings as a pilot in 2013. The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 4U9525, which crashed into the Alps en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf on Tuesday, has been identified as Andreas Lubitz, a German who grew up in the Rhineland town of Montabaur.
Mr. Lubitz, 28, worked as a steward for 11 months after he completed his training and was waiting for a pilot’s slot, Mr. Spohr said, adding that this was not unusual. On Thursday, a French prosecutor said Mr. Lubitz had deliberately set out to “destroy the aircraft” by putting it on a descent path and ignoring the increasingly frantic knocks on a locked cockpit door by the pilot, who had stepped out for a few minutes, leaving Mr. Lubitz at the controls alone.
Early in his training, Mr. Lubitz took a break for several months. He was later allowed to continue, Mr. Spohr said, and completed his training and passed all medical and flying tests. Citing German rules on privacy of medical records, Mr. Spohr declined to say why Mr. Lubitz had interrupted his training. Mr. Lubitz did his training in Bremen, Germany, and in Phoenix beginning in 2008. Officials at Germanwings and its parent company, Lufthansa, provided a bare-bones description of Mr. Lubitz — and said his motivation, if he had committed such a horrendous act, remained a mystery to them, as well.
At the time of what a prosecutor is calling a deliberate descent into the Alps, the co-pilot had 630 hours of flying experience, according to Martin Riecken, a spokesman for Lufthansa, the parent airline of Germanwings. Mr. Spohr, at a news conference near the Germanwings headquarters in Cologne, said, “He was 100 percent flightworthy without any limitations.” “We have no indication what could have led the co-pilot to commit this terrible act,” said Carsten Spohr, head of Lufthansa, at a news conference near the Germanwings headquarters in Cologne, just hours after the prosecutor described the last minutes of the flight. “Such an isolated act can never be completely ruled out. The best system in the world can’t stop it.”
Mr. Spohr said he did not know what Mr. Lubitz’s motivation might have been. “We have no indication what could have led the co-pilot to commit this terrible act,” he said. “Such an isolated act can never be completely ruled out. The best system in the world can’t stop it.” He said he was not aware of any sign of odd behavior by Mr. Lubitz. Officials said Mr. Lubitz was accepted into the pilot training program in 2008, and did his training in Bremen, Germany, and in Phoenix. Martin Riecken, a Lufthansa spokesman, said, “Every Lufthansa pilot does part of their training in Phoenix, simply because the weather there is so good and conditions are good for flying.”
The flight-school program usually lasts from a year and a half to two years, and includes a few months in Phoenix doing real flying in small training aircraft as well as simulator and classroom work, he said. But Mr. Lubitz interrupted his training at one point, for an unknown reason, Mr. Spohr said. If the cause was medical, he said, he would not know because of German rules on privacy for medical records.
Mr. Lubitz eventually completed his training and passed all medical and flying tests, joining Germanwings as a pilot in 2013. He worked as an airline steward for 11 months after he completed his training and was waiting for a pilot’s slot, Mr. Spohr said, adding that this was not unusual.
At the time of the crash, the co-pilot had 630 hours of flying experience, according to Mr. Riecken. “He was 100 percent flightworthy without any limitations,” Mr. Spohr said.
Brice Robin, the Marseilles prosecutor who accused Mr. Lubitz of having acted deliberately, said there was no indication that the destruction of the airliner was a terrorist attack. He said Mr. Lubitz had not been known to law enforcement officials. Later, the German interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, said a check of records had found no terrorism links for anyone on board the plane.
Mr. Lubitz was a member of a flying club near Montabaur, which posted a short death notice for “Andreas” on its website. It said that he had joined as a 14-year-old and that he had long dreamed of being a pilotMr. Lubitz was a member of a flying club near Montabaur, which posted a short death notice for “Andreas” on its website. It said that he had joined as a 14-year-old and that he had long dreamed of being a pilot
On Thursday, members of the club told The Associated Press that he had appeared to be enthusiastic about flying. “He was happy he had the job with Germanwings and he was doing well,” a club member, Peter Ruecker, told The e A.P. “He was very happy. He gave off a good feeling.”On Thursday, members of the club told The Associated Press that he had appeared to be enthusiastic about flying. “He was happy he had the job with Germanwings and he was doing well,” a club member, Peter Ruecker, told The e A.P. “He was very happy. He gave off a good feeling.”
“Andreas became a member of the club as a youth to fulfill his dream of flying,” the LSC Westerwald club said on its website.
“He fulfilled his dream, the dream he now paid so dearly with his life,” the club said.