 D-AIPX, the aircraft involved, pictured here in June 2014 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 March 2015 |
| Summary | Suicide by pilot |
| Site | Nicholas Road, Prads-Haute-Bléone, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France 44°16′48″N 6°26′20″E / 44.280083°N 6.438750°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A320-211 |
| Operator | Germanwings |
| IATA flight No. | 4U9525[a] |
| ICAO flight No. | GWI18G[1] |
| Call sign | GERMANWINGS 18 GOLF |
| Registration | D-AIPX |
| Flight origin | Barcelona–El Prat Airport, Barcelona, Spain |
| Destination | Düsseldorf Airport, Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Occupants | 150 |
| Passengers | 144 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 150 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Germanwings Flight 9525[1] was a scheduled international passenger flight from Barcelona–El Prat Airport in Spain to Düsseldorf Airport in Germany. The flight was operated by Germanwings, a low-cost carrier owned by the German airline Lufthansa. On 24 March 2015, the aircraft, an Airbus A320-211, crashed 100 km (62 mi; 54 nmi) north-west of Nice in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.[2][3]
The crash was deliberately caused by the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, who had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies and declared unfit to work by his doctor. Lubitz kept this information from his employer and instead reported for duty. Shortly after reaching cruise altitude and while the captain was out of the cockpit, Lubitz locked the cockpit door and initiated a controlled descent that continued until the aircraft hit a mountainside.[4][5]
Aviation authorities swiftly implemented new recommendations from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency that required two authorised personnel in the cockpit at all times but, by 2017, Germanwings and other German airlines had dropped the rule.
The Lubitz family held a press conference on 24 March 2017 (the 2nd anniversary of the crash) during which Lubitz's father said that they did not accept the official investigative findings that his son deliberately caused the crash. By 2017, Lufthansa had paid €75,000 to the family of every victim, as well as €10,000 in pain and suffering compensation to every close relative of a victim.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ a b "Final Investigation Report: Accident to the Airbus A320-211, registered D-AIPX and operated by Germanwings, flight GWI18G, on 03/24/15 at Prads-Haute-Bléone". Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety. 13 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2016. – PDF of the English translation of the final report, and the original French version Archived 26 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine (which the BEA notes on PDF p. 2/110 of the English PDF is the primary work of reference)
- ^ "Ce que l'on sait du crash de l'Airbus A320 entre Digne et Barcelonnette" [What is known about the crash of the Airbus A320 between Digne and Barcelonnette] (in French). BFMTV. 24 March 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ "No survivors from German airliner crash in French Alps". Al Jazeera. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Lufthansa boss says Germanwings crash evidence 'beyond worst nightmare'". France 24. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Richards, Victoria (26 March 2015). "Read the full transcript of the Germanwings press conference". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 August 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.