Authorities report that the pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 tried to use an ax to access the cockpit after being locked out of it. All 150 people aboard the plane were killed when it went down in the French Alps on Tuesday.
According to the Washington Post, one of the black boxes recovered earlier this week recorded a banging sound on the door of the cockpit:
French prosecutors said the cockpit flight recorder was peppered with the sounds of the increasingly frantic banging on the cockpit door. And – as a chilling counterpoint – there was only the subtle sounds of Lubitz breathing after apparently setting the plane on a gradual descent into the mountains of southern France with 150 people aboard.
Andreas, open that door! Open that door! the pilot yelled before reaching for the ax, France’s private television channel Métropole 6 reported, citing French investigators.
The German newspaper Bild, citing security sources, also reported the pilot tried to slice into the door with an ax, which is part of the normal safety equipment aboard an A320.
Yesterday, it was reported that the co-pilot, 28-year-old Andreas Lubitz, had a secret illness. German prosecutors have not revealed whether or not the illness was mental or physical. French authorities also said the somewhere between 400 and 600 pieces of human remains were recovered near the site of the crash; none of the bodies were said to be in tact.
[via Washington Post]
