Germanwings Co-Pilot Named as Andreas Lubitz
Flying club that he joined as a youth issues notice of death
French prosecutor Brice Robin said noises like a door being kicked down can be heard on the black box
recording recovered from Tuesday’s plane crash in the French Alps. Mark Kelly reports.
FRANKFURT—Andreas Lubitz, the 28-year-old co-pilot who authorities
say appeared to fly Germanwings Flight 9525 intentionally into the French
Alps, had passed all flight training and psychological screening and had no
record of problems, the chief executive of the airline’s parent company said
Thursday.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG Chief Executive Carsten Spohr said at a news
conference that he had no indications why Mr. Lubitz, a German national,
would have intentionally crashed the plane.
Earlier in the day, the French prosecutor in charge of the crash probe named
Mr. Lubitz as the co-pilot, and said he appeared to have locked himself
inside the cockpit, preventing his more-experienced pilot to re-enter, after
the pilot had left the cockpit. Then he appeared to intentionally crash the jet,
the prosecutor said.
Mr. Lubitz joined budget carrier Germanwings in 2013 and had 630 flight
hours, according to Lufthansa. He completed flight training in Bremen,
Germany. Mr. Spohr said Mr. Lubitz had been qualified fit to fly and cleared
all screening checks. But he also said he had interrupted his training for some
months, without providing details. He said he couldn’t comment on Mr.
Lubitz’s break in training, but said he was tested again for flight fitness
after returning.
German Interior
Minister Thomas de
Maizière said separately
Thursday that German
security forces have no
indication that Mr.
Lubitz had a terrorism
background.
“According to our present
information...we have no
indication of any kind
of terroristic background
for him,” Mr. de Maizière said in a televised statement.
Some early biographical about Mr. Lubitz started to come into view. He was
a member of a German flying club that said he joined the group as a youth to
“fulfill his dream of flying.”
The LSC flying club, which is in the German state of Rhineland Palatinate,
named Mr. Lubitz as a member and the co-pilot of the plane in a death notice
on its website posted before the prosecutor’s statement.
An undated handout picture issued by Airbus shows an A320 cockpit. One of the two pilots of Germanwings Flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit when it crashed. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
He comes from the town of Montabaur, about 60 miles northwest of
Frankfurt. The town issued a statement on Thursday expressing sympathy
with the family, but didn’t name Mr. Lubitz.
It wasn’t immediately possible to reach family members or representatives of
Mr. Lubitz.
Flight 9525 crashed Tuesday en route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf with
150 people on board.
—Archibald Preuschat contributed to this article.
