Data recovered from the doomed Germanwings aircraft’s flight data recorder resolutely confirms that Andreas Lubitz willingly crashed the Airbus, killing everyone on board.
It has also emerged that he searched online for methods of suicide and the inner workings of cockpit doors in the days before the event.
Lubitz first coaxed the flight’s captain to leave the cockpit, then locked himself in. He proceeded to operate the aircraft’s autopilot and set it to an altitude of 100 feet as they flew over the Alps, and finally, data confirms that Lubitz pushed the engines’ throttles twice to increase the descent velocity until the aircraft slammed into the mountains at full speed. All these actions were deliberate and calculated.
Data extracted from Lubitz’s personal computer at his home revealed that he had looked online for suicide methods, and also for technical information on cockpit doors locking systems.