Germanwings: Killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz 'rehearsed' crashing passenger jet on earlier flight

Chilling: Andreas Lubitz apparently 'practised' the crash as he flew to Barcelona on the outbound journey

The killer co-pilot who smashed a passenger jet into the French Alps 'rehearsed' the crash just hours before on another flight.
Andreas Lubitz practised bringing down the Germanwings Airbus A320 as it took passengers on a journey from Germany to Spain just hours before he carried out his horrifying act on the return journey.
Germany's BILD newspaper has revealed that Lubitz, 27, is thought to have been at the controls of the plane as it flew from Dusseldorf to Barcelona and that he may have gone through the motions of bringing the flight down.

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Killer: Andreas Lubitz is thought to have been suffering with mental health problems when he brought the plane down

French air investigation authorities are due to make a further statement about the March 24 disaster in which all 150 people on board the aircraft perished later on Wednesday.
The newspaper said: "From this it is clear that Lubitz already tried a descent on the outbound flight from Dusseldorf to Barcelona.



"This is the result of the extensive analysis of the aircraft's black box flight recorders. There is talk on them of a 'minutes long technically controlled descent.'

"This shows that Lubitz clearly deviated from the planned flight. It is not to be excluded that he was not only rehearsing his later act on the outbound flight but perhaps even wanted to realize it."
Evidence from the black box recorders have already shown that Lubitz urged the plane's captain Patrick Sondenheimer to use the toilet as the aircraft travelled to Dusseldorf.
Once he was out of the cockpit he used his absence to change the code on the door, locking him out.

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Captain Sondenheimer, 36, a father-of-two, tried desperately to save his plane by trying to break in and shouting: "Open the goddamn door!"
In the background can be heard the shouting and screaming of terrified passengers as the plane hurtled towards a mountainside.

Horror: All 150 on board the plane died in the crash

Lubitz, say investigators, had already activated the aircraft's descent mechanism and increased engine speed so the plane impacted at around 500mph.



After his death it was revealed he had been battling severe depression and suicidal thoughts for years.
He was even written off sick by a doctor on the day he was at the controls - the screwed-up note authorising his medical absence from work was later found by police at his apartment in Dusseldorf.