Germanwings crash: Who was co-pilot Andreas Lubitz?
 Andreas Lubitz, the young co-pilot believed to have caused Tuesday's Germanwings plane crash, started flying as a teenager. He first took to the skies as member of a gliding club in his home town of Montabaur in west Germany, before fulfilling his ambition of becoming a professional pilot. Friends and neighbours have described him as a "quiet" but "fun" character, who was enjoying his job. A picture from his now defunct Facebook page shows him smiling happily in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. But on the morning of the 24 March the 27-year-old's career took a dark turn. Mr Lubitz has been accused by French prosecutors of intentionally flying an Airbus 320 into the French Alps, with 150 people on board. Now investigators are poring over his background, trying to ascertain his exact mental state in the days leading up to crash. His parents' home in Montabaur, a small town near Frankfurt of around 12,500 people, has become the focus of media attention. Police officers have been patrolling the quiet cul-de-sac to keep reporters and photographers away from the front door. Mr Lubitz also had a flat in Duesseldorf, which detectives are examining for evidence. More clues about exactly what happened are expected to emerge in the coming days. Pilot school His keen interest in flying started about the age of 14, when he joined the LSC Westerwald e.V. glider club in Montabaur. He learned to fly in a sleek white ASK-21 two-seat glider and went on to obtain his full licence, according to the club's chairman Klaus Radke. Neighbours said running was another of his passions and he could be regularly seen jogging in the neighbourhood. In 2007 he graduated from high school and was accepted as a Lufthansa trainee the following year, enrolling at the company's training school in Bremen. Mr Lubitz had a break in training about six years ago, lasting several months, according to Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr. But his suitability was assessed again and he resumed his studies. Then in September 2013 he joined the Lufthansa budget airline Germanwings. |
