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| Germanywings plane crash pilots: Captain 'was at helm' when A320 came down in French Alps | Germanywings plane crash pilots: Captain 'was at helm' when A320 came down in French Alps |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps came down with its highly experienced captain at the controls, it has been reported. | The Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps came down with its highly experienced captain at the controls, it has been reported. |
| Unnamed officials said this morning that voice recordings recovered from Flight 9525 showed one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit at the time of the crash, though this is yet to be confirmed by the French aviation authority. | Unnamed officials said this morning that voice recordings recovered from Flight 9525 showed one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit at the time of the crash, though this is yet to be confirmed by the French aviation authority. |
| But as Germanwings and its parent airline Lufthansa prepared to address the issue at a press confernce in Cologne this afternoon (1.30pm GMT), Le Monde quoted a French official as saying that it was the co-pilot, not the captain, who got locked out. Germanwings this morning refused to name either pilot, responding to repeated requests for information on Twitter with the statement: "Please understand that we will not release any of the names not only due to data protection but to honor their privacy." | |
| Last night, Lufthansa described both pilots as "experienced and trained" during a press conference in Barcelona, and provided some details of their service history. | Last night, Lufthansa described both pilots as "experienced and trained" during a press conference in Barcelona, and provided some details of their service history. |
| The captain, now reported to be the one at the helm when the plane went down, had more than 6,000 hours of flying time and been Germanwings pilot since May 2014, having previously flown for Lufthansa and Condor. | The captain, now reported to be the one at the helm when the plane went down, had more than 6,000 hours of flying time and been Germanwings pilot since May 2014, having previously flown for Lufthansa and Condor. |
| The co-pilot was much less experienced, however. Lufthansa said he had joined Germanwings in September 2013 straight out of training, and ammassed just 630 flying hours. | The co-pilot was much less experienced, however. Lufthansa said he had joined Germanwings in September 2013 straight out of training, and ammassed just 630 flying hours. |
| Meanwhile, more details began to emerge regarding the identities of the passengers and other crew members who died. | Meanwhile, more details began to emerge regarding the identities of the passengers and other crew members who died. |
| Germanwings said 72 of the victims were German nationals, and 35 were Spaniards. Amid confusion over dual-nationality passengers, however, Spanish officials said this number could be up to 50. | Germanwings said 72 of the victims were German nationals, and 35 were Spaniards. Amid confusion over dual-nationality passengers, however, Spanish officials said this number could be up to 50. |
| In addition, three of the victims were Britons, three American, three Argentinian and three Kazakh. Two were Iranian sports journalists, and there were also two each of Colombians, Australians, Japanese, Mexicans and Venezualans. | In addition, three of the victims were Britons, three American, three Argentinian and three Kazakh. Two were Iranian sports journalists, and there were also two each of Colombians, Australians, Japanese, Mexicans and Venezualans. |
| There was one dead each from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, Morocco and Turkey, according to their various governments and the Germanwings airline. | There was one dead each from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, Morocco and Turkey, according to their various governments and the Germanwings airline. |