Awaiting Full Details....

A transcript of the final moments of Germanwings Flight 4U9525 has been published by the German newspaper Bild. Reflecting the captured sound in the cockpit voice recorder where the captain, Patrick Sondenheimer, informs his co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz that he hadn't been able to relieve himself before takeoff, and planned to take a few moments to do so while the plane was in maximum altitude and landing was not far off.

"You can take over", the captain said to his co-pilot.

Soon afterward the captain attempts to re-enter the cockpit. He is denied entry. He asks his co-pilot to unlock the door. Soon he is banging frantically on the door, screaming "For God's sake, open the door!" His mind, no doubt, fixated on the prospect of the early termination of many lives, his own included. And by then the passengers have been alerted to something having gone terribly wrong with the routine flight they have taken.

And, at the frantic demand of authority in the voice of the captain: "Open the damn door!",  and the sound of the axe he is wielding against the door reaches their consciousness, the knowledge that something horrible is about to occur, is reflected in the brief period of screaming the recorder picks up before the plane hits a mountaintop. Investigators believe there is the sound of the plane's wing hitting the mountain.

Before death makes its entrance.


This is the action of a man who resists being told what to do. This is the decision-making of a young man accustomed to having things work out his way. From flying lessons as a teen enabling him to lift a plane off on his own at age 14, to general admiration for his physical prowess, keen enthusiasms, and determined pursuit of a commercial pilot's license. And his belief that he can buy back the affection of a girlfriend by gifting her with a car.

A young man who, though he seeks the help of medical professionals, refuses their advice when it interferes with his aspirational plans. The number of undelivered doctors' scripts excusing Andreas Lubitz from work duty testament enough to his attitude toward his entitlements and his disregard for the welfare of those whose safety has been entrusted to him. When an emotional illiterate mired in his juvenile sense of self has no interest in the public good.

Access to the crash site is very difficult for the recovery teams

Friends and acquaintances describe him in glowing terms as a friendly, well-adjusted, ambitious young man, capable and responsible. The individual who committed suicide and with it mass murder cannot possibly be the man whom they knew. Until enquiries are made of a young woman - two young women - who knew him intimately, and then the ego-driven agenda of a man bridling with resentment arises.

But wait, not everyone is prepared to condemn Andreas Lubitz. Certainly not defenders and spokespeople for those afflicted with mental disorders who decry condemnation of someone with mental illness being guilty of murder as precipitously reaching a conclusion when not all 'facts' are known as yet. And the German Airline Pilots Association points to the fact that the flight data recorder remains missing so that reasons for the crash cannot yet be fully determined.

And the European Cockpit Association claims the release of voice recorder data represents a "serious breach" of globally accepted rules, while many questions remain unanswered. Rushing to judgement, are we? In criticizing a relaxation of vigilance on behalf of the travelling public who trust that no reputable airlines would ever risk inviting disaster by permitting someone with a history of mental illness to have the responsibility of safety for airline passengers.

They can only get to the crash site on foot or with the help of helicopters

Authorities at the airlines were aware that Andreas Lubitz interrupted his pilot training sessions for months while he underwent psychiatric treatment. And when he returned to those training sessions he was deemed fully fit to resume training, representing a fine specimen of reliable, capable and talented material as a pilot in whom complete trust could be placed that he would undertake his professional duties in a manner to make his trainers proud.