NY TIMES: Pilot Locked Out Of Cockpit On Ill Fated Flight
PARIS, March 25 (UPI) — The New York Times is reporting that one of the pilots of Germanwings Flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit at the time of the plane’s deadly crash.
A senior military official told the Times the cockpit voice recorder picked up “very smooth, very cool” conversation between the two pilots during the first part of the flight. One of the pilots can then be heard exiting the cockpit and unable to reenter.
“The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door and there is no answer,” the source said. “And then he hits the door stronger and no answer. There is never an answer.
“You can hear he is trying to smash the door down.”
“We don’t know yet the reason why one of the guys went out,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “But what is sure is that at the very end of the flight, the other pilot is alone and does not open the door.”
Sounds from the audio file indicate the plane was flying right up until it crashed in the French Alps and did not explode midair.
The black box from the Airbus A320 containing the cockpit voice recorder data was heavily damaged, officials said.
“The black box is damaged and must be reconstituted in the coming hours in order to be usable,” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Wednesday.
Officials with the French Bureau of Investigations and Analysis (BEA) told The Guardian they were “optimistic” they could find the second black box, the flight data recorder.
“The crash zone is two hectares, which is big but not massive,” BEA spokesman Rémi Jouty said. “We are combing the site, and we will find the flight data recorder, which is built to resist a severe crash. I am confident we will find out what happened.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department told ABC News three U.S. citizens were onboard the aircraft, updating the initial American death toll of two.
Two of the victims were identified by family members as mother and daughter Yvonne Selke and Emily Selke.
“Our entire family is deeply saddened by the losses of Yvonne and Emily Selke,” the family said in a statement Wednesday. “Two wonderful, caring, amazing people who meant so much to so many. At this difficult time we respectfully ask for privacy and your prayers.”
The State Department has not identified the third American victim of the crash.
The Airbus crashed Tuesday in the French Alps in southern France, with all 150 people aboard, including two babies and 16 high-schoolers, presumed dead. Of those aboard were 45 Spaniards, 67 Germans, two Australians and several British nationals. Among the dead are two teachers and two German opera stars.
The plane was en route to Barcelona, Spain, from Düsseldorf, Germany. Lufthansa Vice President Heike Birlenbach said the company is treating the crash as an accident. The plane left the airport 30 minutes late, but there was little more authorities could say. French Prime Minister Manual Valls said “no hypothesis” could be ruled out.
At first light Wednesday, helicopters scoured the wide debris field as bereaved families arrived at the site. The icy and rocky terrain, with a threat of more snow and rain, made the search difficult.
President Barack Obama expressed his condolences to people of Germany and Spain, saying “America stands with them at this moment of sorrow.”
