Update 2: French authorities have released shocking further information regarding the crash of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525, suggesting that the plane's co-pilot, Andreas Günter Lubitz, may have deliberately locked the plane's captain Patrick Sonderheimer out of the cockpit in an attempt to crash the plane and kill everyone on-board.
The black box audio recording indicates that the captain excused himself from the cockpit, presumably to use the restroom, but was unable to open the door upon his return. The plane's flight management system is started to begin the descent, which can only be done manually, meaning the co-pilot would have had to use his code to operate the system. The pilot can be heard on the recording, demanding to be let in using the cockpit's intercom system. While there is no response from Lubitz, his breathing can be heard on the recording, and appears normal and not halting.
The passengers can only be heard screaming during the final moments of the recording, meaning that most were probably completely unaware of what was taking place until seconds before the moment of impact.
[Update 1: New information has come to light regarding the mysterious crash of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 in the French Alps on Tuesday. Investigators had located the airplane's black box device, which records all communications between the pilots and air traffic control as well as anything that takes place within the cockpit. A source close to the French investigation team assigned with the task of discovering what happened during the flight has revealed that recordings from the craft early on indicated all was well and the flight was routine.
Then, one of the pilots leaves the cockpit for a short duration of time. Upon returning, the pilot is unable to gain entry back into the cockpit and initially begins to knock on the door quietly. When there is no response from inside the cockpit, the knocks on the door become more and more frantic, while there is still no response from the pilot behind the controls. Nothing can be heard from the pilot from inside the cockpit as the pilot locked out tries desperately to break down the door to gain entry.
Within minutes, the plane begins its perilous descent from a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet before crashing into the side of a mountain in France, travelling at a high rate of speed, virtually pulverizing the Airbus 320 craft. French investigators have revealed very little regarding their findings so far, but are expected to release a detailed, full report within the next several weeks.]
Yet another perplexing aviation mystery has descended from the skies. A year after the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 and only a few months after the deadly Indonesia AirAsia crash in December and the TransAsia crash in Taiwan in February, a troubling mystery surrounds the crash of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525.
The flight from Barcelona, Spain to Düsseldorf, Germany, was seemingly routine upon take-off from El Prat airport. All seemed well until midway through the flight when the Airbus A320 plane reached a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet. Within minutes, the plane began to lose altitude at a speed of 584 mph. All attempts from radio traffic control to contact the craft were met with silence. The pilots do not initiate an emergency distress call or signal. Meteorologists in Europe have confirmed the weather was relatively good in the area, with no storms appearing on weather radar and good visibility. The airplane continues its high-speed descent for a full eight minutes, with no further contact. One minute before the deadly crash, the plane was only at an altitude of 4000 feet in the mountainous terrain of the French Alps, before the aircraft goes completely off radar screens.
Helicopters and emergency crews immediately convened to search for the crash site, which proved difficult in the rocky, remote region, approximately 150 kilometers north of the resort town of Nice on the Cote d'Azure of France. A debris field of several kilometers in length is observed by helicopter crews in a valley. The relatively small size of the debris pieces at the site indicates the crash was at a very high rate of speed. No survivors of the 144 passengers and six crew members are expected to be found. Distraught family members at the airport in Germany were informed of the crash by airport staff and grief counselors.
The mystery of why no distress signal was issued and why the crew lost contact with air traffic control will be the focus of investigators in the coming days, weeks and months. French president Francoise Hollande has vowed there will be a complete and total investigation into the cause of the crash, calling it a "tragedy on our soil" in a joint press conference with King Felipe VI of Spain, who was in Paris for an official state visit at the time of the crash. The 24-year-old craft had undergone a complete inspection in the summer of 2013. The flight's "black box" recording device has been recovered among the debris and hopefully will offer clues as to what was taking place with the flight crew in the cockpit in the minutes leading up to the devastating crash.
Among the passengers on the manifest for the flight was a group of 16 German high school students and two of their teachers, two opera singers from Barcelona's Liceu Opera House as well as several infants. Germany appears to have suffered the worst death toll, with 67 German citizens on board the doomed flight.
No credible threats or claims have been received from terrorists concerning the disaster. Was the crash associated with an aging aircraft, pilot error, terrorism or some other unknown cause, such as a magnetic anomaly? Hopefully, these questions will be answered soon, as the family and friends of the lost passengers struggle for answers amidst their grief.
The black box audio recording indicates that the captain excused himself from the cockpit, presumably to use the restroom, but was unable to open the door upon his return. The plane's flight management system is started to begin the descent, which can only be done manually, meaning the co-pilot would have had to use his code to operate the system. The pilot can be heard on the recording, demanding to be let in using the cockpit's intercom system. While there is no response from Lubitz, his breathing can be heard on the recording, and appears normal and not halting.
The passengers can only be heard screaming during the final moments of the recording, meaning that most were probably completely unaware of what was taking place until seconds before the moment of impact.
[Update 1: New information has come to light regarding the mysterious crash of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 in the French Alps on Tuesday. Investigators had located the airplane's black box device, which records all communications between the pilots and air traffic control as well as anything that takes place within the cockpit. A source close to the French investigation team assigned with the task of discovering what happened during the flight has revealed that recordings from the craft early on indicated all was well and the flight was routine.
Then, one of the pilots leaves the cockpit for a short duration of time. Upon returning, the pilot is unable to gain entry back into the cockpit and initially begins to knock on the door quietly. When there is no response from inside the cockpit, the knocks on the door become more and more frantic, while there is still no response from the pilot behind the controls. Nothing can be heard from the pilot from inside the cockpit as the pilot locked out tries desperately to break down the door to gain entry.
Within minutes, the plane begins its perilous descent from a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet before crashing into the side of a mountain in France, travelling at a high rate of speed, virtually pulverizing the Airbus 320 craft. French investigators have revealed very little regarding their findings so far, but are expected to release a detailed, full report within the next several weeks.]
Yet another perplexing aviation mystery has descended from the skies. A year after the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 and only a few months after the deadly Indonesia AirAsia crash in December and the TransAsia crash in Taiwan in February, a troubling mystery surrounds the crash of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525.
The flight from Barcelona, Spain to Düsseldorf, Germany, was seemingly routine upon take-off from El Prat airport. All seemed well until midway through the flight when the Airbus A320 plane reached a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet. Within minutes, the plane began to lose altitude at a speed of 584 mph. All attempts from radio traffic control to contact the craft were met with silence. The pilots do not initiate an emergency distress call or signal. Meteorologists in Europe have confirmed the weather was relatively good in the area, with no storms appearing on weather radar and good visibility. The airplane continues its high-speed descent for a full eight minutes, with no further contact. One minute before the deadly crash, the plane was only at an altitude of 4000 feet in the mountainous terrain of the French Alps, before the aircraft goes completely off radar screens.
Helicopters and emergency crews immediately convened to search for the crash site, which proved difficult in the rocky, remote region, approximately 150 kilometers north of the resort town of Nice on the Cote d'Azure of France. A debris field of several kilometers in length is observed by helicopter crews in a valley. The relatively small size of the debris pieces at the site indicates the crash was at a very high rate of speed. No survivors of the 144 passengers and six crew members are expected to be found. Distraught family members at the airport in Germany were informed of the crash by airport staff and grief counselors.
The mystery of why no distress signal was issued and why the crew lost contact with air traffic control will be the focus of investigators in the coming days, weeks and months. French president Francoise Hollande has vowed there will be a complete and total investigation into the cause of the crash, calling it a "tragedy on our soil" in a joint press conference with King Felipe VI of Spain, who was in Paris for an official state visit at the time of the crash. The 24-year-old craft had undergone a complete inspection in the summer of 2013. The flight's "black box" recording device has been recovered among the debris and hopefully will offer clues as to what was taking place with the flight crew in the cockpit in the minutes leading up to the devastating crash.
Among the passengers on the manifest for the flight was a group of 16 German high school students and two of their teachers, two opera singers from Barcelona's Liceu Opera House as well as several infants. Germany appears to have suffered the worst death toll, with 67 German citizens on board the doomed flight.
No credible threats or claims have been received from terrorists concerning the disaster. Was the crash associated with an aging aircraft, pilot error, terrorism or some other unknown cause, such as a magnetic anomaly? Hopefully, these questions will be answered soon, as the family and friends of the lost passengers struggle for answers amidst their grief.