The copilot suspected of deliberately crashing a Germanwings A320 into the French Alps on March 24 apparently rehearsed a procedure to place the airplane into a controlled descent during the previous flight from Dusseldorf to Barcelona earlier in the morning, according to an interim report released by French accident investigation agency BEA on Wednesday. In a summary of initial findings, the report indicates that the flight data recorder (FDR) recorded several altitude selections toward 100 feet during descent on the flight that preceded the accident flight, while copilot Andreas Lubitz sat alone in the cockpit.
FDR data indicates that on the return flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, Lubitz again changed the altitude selected on the flight control unit (FCU) in one second from 38,000 feet to 100 feet, following the captain’s departure from the cockpit. Some three minutes after the airplane began descending, Lubitz increased the selected speed six times until it reached 302 knots. Finally, some four minutes into the descent, the selected speed changed to 323 knots and, 40 seconds later, then increased again to 350 knots.
It took roughly 10 minutes for the airplane to descend into a mountainside, killing all 144 passengers and six crewmembers on board.
During that time, said the report, the autopilot and autothrust remained engaged, the cockpit call signal from the cabin, known as the cabin call, sounded four times and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recorded noises “similar to a person knocking on the cockpit door” on six occasions. The CVR also recorded muffled voices asking for Lubitz to open the cockpit door “several times” and noises sounding like violent blows to the door on five occasions.
During the flight the Marseille control center called the flight crew 11 times on three different frequencies without any response. The French military then intervened, trying to contact the crew on three occasions without any answer.
Meanwhile, about a minute and a half before impact, the FDR recorded inputs to the right sidestick for about 30 seconds, but too subtle to disengage the autopilot. Throughout the descent the CVR recorded the sound of breathing until a few seconds before the end of the flight, and before the collision, warnings from the GPWS, Master Caution and Master Warning sounded.
Personnel information in the BEA report indicated that the 27-year-old German copilot lost his Class 1 medical certificate on April 9, 2009, due to depression and taking medication to treat the illness. On July 28 he obtained a new Class 1 certificate, endorsed with a special note that indicated a limitation requiring the aeromedical examiner to contact the license-issuing authority before performing any medical evaluation related to extension or renewal of the medical certificate.