Past encounters with flier in fatal crash recalled as prosecutors seek answers
Dramatic recordings from the Germanwings flight's black box have revealed the captain's desperate attempts to break into the cockpit to regain control of the plane.
According to transcripts published German newspaper Bild, captain Patrick Sondheimer screamed 'Open the goddamn door!' as his Killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz co-pilot deliberately flew the aircraft into an Alpine ravine.
It was earlier revealed that Lubitz was living 'on the edge' because he feared that his deteriorating blurred vision would cost him his pilot's licence.
The black box recording starts with captain Sondheimer apologising to passengers for a 26-minute delay in Barcelona, and promising to make up the time on the flight to Dusseldorf.
In the next 20 minutes, Sondheimer converses with co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who tells him he can go to the toilet at any time and he will take over the controls, noting that the pilot didn't go to the lavatory in Barcelona.
At 10.27am, the airliner reaches its cruising altitude of 38,000ft. The pilot prompts his first officer to prepare for the landing in Dusseldorf.
The French prosecutors described Lubitz's replies as 'laconic', and he is heard using words such as 'hopefully' and 'we'll see'.
After the checks for landing, Lubitz says to Sondheimer again: 'You can go now.'
The pilot lets another two minutes elapse, then he says to Lubitz: 'You can take over.'
There is the sound of a seat being pushed back and the snap of a door.
At 10.29am the flight radar monitors the plane descending.
At 10.30am it is down by 316ft, and just a minute later, it is down 1800ft. At 10.32am air traffic controllers try to contact the aircraft, but get no response.
In the plane, the automatic alarm signal 'Sink Rate' sounds almost at the same time, according to the voice recorder.
Dramatic recordings from the Germanwings flight's black box have revealed the captain's desperate attempts to break into the cockpit to regain control of the plane.
Shortly afterwards there is a loud bang, which sounds like someone trying to enter the cockpit. Sondheimer yells: 'For God's sake, open the door!'
In the background, passengers can be heard screaming.
At 10.35am 'loud, metallic banging against the cockpit door' is heard again, according to the French authorities. The jet is still 7,000ft above the ground.
About 90 seconds later there is a new warning message - 'Ground! Pull up! Pull up!'
The pilot is heard shouting: 'Open the goddamn door!'
At 10.38am, with its engines racing, the aircraft is on a north-east course over the French Alps. The breathing of Lubitz can be heard in the cockpit but he says nothing.
At 10.40am the aircraft hits the mountainside with its right wing. The last sounds are more screams from passengers.
It is believed that Sondheimer resorted to using a crowbar to try and get through the armoured panel as the plane plunged fatally towards the Alps.
Flowers are laid in memory of the crash victims. Photo / AP
Bild reported that he had attempted to use an axe, and a Germanwings spokesman confirmed that such a tool was on board the aircraft.
But it emerged last night that the only axe on the plane would have been in the cockpit, meaning it was out of reach of the captain.
It has emerged that Lubitz once planned to marry his long-term girlfriend but she broke off the relationship because his Jekyll and Hyde personality left her fearing for her safety, it was claimed.
The woman, named as teacher Kathrin Goldbach, is understood to have called time on Lubitz's increasingly erratic and controlling behaviour just weeks before the Germanwings crash.
Reports emerged that police searching the pilot's flat had found a 'small mountain of pills' and he had apparently been refusing to take his antidepressants medication.
Miss Goldbach still lived with Lubitz, 27, but it is understood she was on the lookout for a flat after being driven away by his need to be in charge. He even tried to tell her what to wear, friends said.
While outwardly confident, his hidden insecurity demanded constant attention - which led him to betray Kathrin with a five-month fling with a Germanwings stewardess conducted in cheap hotels.
But she, too, is believed to have ended her relationship after growing fearful of the 'tormented and erratic' Lubitz.
