Germanwings A320 crashes in French Alps

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

An Airbus A320 airliner has crashed in the French Alps between Barcelonnette and Digne, French aviation officials and police have said.
The jet belongs to the German airline Germanwings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa.
The plane had reportedly been en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf and was carrying 142 passengers and six crew.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32030270
 

 

[robbedagain]

RIP to all those aboard the flight

 

[jcw]

RIP

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

Last moments of the plane
10.01am CET Flight 4U 9525 takes off
10.44am Plane reaches cruising altitude
10.45am Plane begins unexplained descent
10.47am Air traffic controllers issue ‘third phase’ distress call
10.53am Radar and radio contact breaks off
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germanwings-french-alps-crash-why-did-doomed-airbus-a320-descend-for-eight-minutes-without-issuing-a-distress-signal-10131005.html
 
 

Several Germanwings flights were cancelled on Tuesday after their crews refused to fly, as it emerged that the aircraft which crashed in the French Alps had been grounded for an hour for repairs the day before the accident.


Pilots and cabin crew refused to fly over concerns the crash may have been linked to a repair to the nose-wheel landing doors on Monday, according to an unconfirmed report in Spiegel magazine.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11493388/Several-Germanwings-flights-cancelled-after-crew-refused-to-fly.html
 

 

[700UW]

This is real bad.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/europe/germanwings-airbus-crash.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&utm_content=bufferb428c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&_r=0

 

[WorldTraveler]

God have mercy on the western airline industry if this leads where some are suggesting.

The fact that there was a flurry of activity yesterday to hear the CVR and now virtual silence only adds to the questions and doubt

 

[jimntx]

Just announced on NBC...crash was deliberate on part of one of the cockpit crew  (not clear which one).  One of them left the cockpit to make a "natural" stop.  I'm assuming that means he went to the lav.  He is then locked out of the cockpit, and the descent is accelerated.  Though nothing is said over Cockpit Voice Recorder for the remainder of the flight, the noise of the crew member trying to break in to the cockpit can be heard on the CVR.
 
Evidently German airlines do not require that there be two people in the cockpit at all times during flight.  Wonder if this is true of all European airlines?  An expert witness on NBC just said that he is trying to determine if they have the same policies as U.S. airlines--that there must be two people in cockpit at all times (a cockpit jumpseater or a flight attendant when one of cockpit crew is out).  He said so far the information he has uncovered is conflicting.
 
(Just edited first paragraph to remove references to Captain and FO.  Initial report said that Captain left the cockpit, but now they are just saying a cockpit crewmember.)

 

[Kev3188]

NYT is now saying that it was the FO in the cockpit, and that he can be heard breathing up until impact (the implication being that his actions were intentional).

CNN is also stating that the screams of passengers were picked up as well.

 

[WorldTraveler]

No wonder LH's CEO said yesterday that the crash was the saddest event in LH's history.

God have mercy.

 

[signals]

May all Rest In Peace.

In the latest report, he was suffering from severe depression and had a note from a doctor to not go into work on the day that this psychopath crashed the aircraft.

My question is if the doctors were so concerned, why didn't they call the airline to report his condition?

 

[signals]

Psychological aspects emerge on the pilot's depression and suicidal tendencies.

http://blogs.webmd.com/breaking-news/2015/03/germanwings-crash-is-depression-really-to-blame.html?ecd=wnl_nal_033115&ctr=wnl-nal-033115_nsl-ld-stry&mb=AVG9rim3XrZPD%40MjHWLSZuHnVev1imbC%40WS%2fODWkvPY%3d

 

[Hatu]

FAA questioned mental health of Germanwings pilot


Washington (CNN)Years before Andreas Lubitz crashed a commercial airliner into the French Alps, the Federal Aviation Administration raised questions about his mental health, declining to give him a medical certificate.

The agency switched course about three weeks later in 2010 after a physician working with Lubitz said his treatment was complete.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/29/politics/germanwings-pilot-faa-mental-health/index.html