Airbus A320 plane crash in Southern France
Germanwings flight 4U 9525, which went down in the French Alps killing all 150 people on board, was likely deliberately crashed by the co-pilot. He was alone in the cockpit when the accident occurred, according to a French prosecutor.
31 March 2015
13:53 GMT- 13:52 GMT
French President Francois Hollande said that all the victims of Germanwings jet crash will be identified by the end of the week.
"The French interior minister confirmed that by the end of the week at the latest it will be possible to identify all of the victims thanks to DNA samples," he said at a press conference.
However, earlier French experts said that the identification process would take months.
“Subject to the number of body parts found, the time period could fluctuate between two months, at least, and four months,” the head of the Criminal Research Institute at France's National Gendarmerie, Colonel Francois Daoust, said.
27 March 2015
17:13 GMTGermanwings did not receive the sick note of pilot Lubitz that would have covered the date of the catastrophe in France, it said on Friday. “Media reports say that the co-pilot on FU 9525 had a sick note for the day of the accident. Germanwings would like to clarify that no medical note was presented to the firm for this day,” the airline said.
- 16:43 GMT
Düsseldorf University Hospital said in a statement on Friday that the co-pilot of the Lufthansa A320 plane was its patient from February-March 10, 2015, DPA news agency reported. “Reports telling that Andreas L. [Lubitz] received treatment against depression at our clinic are inaccurate,” said a hospital spokeswoman, adding that “it was diagnostic tests.” Its director Klaus Höffken said the clinic will assist the investigation in an “active and unconditional” way.
- 16:06 GMT
The German Federal Aviation Office (LBA) has requested the medical records of the Germanwings co-pilot to pass it to the French prosecutor’s office, Tass reported Friday. An LBA spokesperson said that pilots have to pass annual medical tests in their company’s medical center to obtain a new flight fitness license.
- 15:20 GMT
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Here's the building near Düsseldorf where the Germanwings co-pilot lived. Next door neighbors put a flag at half mast pic.twitter.com/JNxGF2Vuxp
— Michael Birnbaum (@michaelbirnbaum) March 27, 2015 - 15:07 GMT
Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz underwent treatment at the Dusseldorf University Hospital, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed Friday. The treatment was unrelated to depression, Susanne Dopheide told RIA Novosti news agency. Earlier, German media reported that Lubitz may have received treatment for depression.
- 14:22 GMT
- 13:56 GMT
France's leading pilots’ union has announced it is filing a lawsuit over leaks about the investigation into the Germanwings plane crash. Information about ongoing investigations must be kept secret, according to French law.
The lawsuit doesn't name an alleged perpetrator, a method in French law that leaves investigators to determine who is at fault, Guillaume Schmid of France's SNPL union told AP.
"We can understand there is a certain pressure, a wish to know," Schmid said, but added that leaking information too early can mislead the public. - 13:16 GMT
Italian carrier Alitalia has announced its flights will have two people in the cockpit at all times, a spokesman for the company told The Local.