We are updating this post with new developments.
Three days after the German co-pilot Andreas Lubitz flew a plane into the French Alps, apparently intentionally, killing himself and about 150 other people, details about him and the crash continue to trickle out. Here are the latest:
The co-pilot may have been hiding a medical condition
Investigators searched Lubitz’s apartment and found ripped-up doctor’s notes that allowed the pilot sick leave from work the day of the crash, prosecutors told the AP.
An unnamed German aviation official told the AP that Lubitz’s file in the Federal Aviation Office also included a note indicating a need for “specific regular medical examination,” which could refer to either a physical or mental condition. The details and severity of the illness are unclear, the Associated Press reports.
The CEO of Germanwings’ parent company, Lufthansa, said Lubitz had passed the airline’s health evaluation.
Raw data from the transponder supports the theory that the crash was deliberate
Flight Radar, a flight tracking website, analyzed the plane’s transponder data and found that someone manually changed to autopilot setting’s altitude from 38,000 feet to 96 feet, “and 9 seconds later the aircraft started to descend.”
All Lufthansa passenger airlines will adopt the “rule of two”
Joining a number of other airlines implementing new cockpit security measures in the wake of the crash, Lufthansa announced today that it is changing its procedures so ”two authorized persons must be present in the cockpit at all times during a flight.” Lufthansa owns Germanwings, as well as a number of other airlines.
Germanwings is reconsidering its ”Get ready to be surprised” advertising campaign
The airline has removed 65 digital ads that were placed throughout London’s underground tube system. Some of the ads urged potential customers to ”Get ready to be surprised, visit Germany,” according to the London Evening Standard.