Germanwings probe reveals pilot got locked out of cockpit, could not re-enter just before crash

As officials strived to unravel the mystery surrounding the crash of a Germanwings plane in a remote area of the French Alps, an investigator has said that evidence retrieved from a cockpit voice recorder showed that one pilot left the cockpit prior to the crash and was unable to get back in.

A senior military official involved in the investigation said that the recordings indicated that the early part of the flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany was "very smooth, very cool" as the pilots are heard having a relaxed conversation in the cockpit. However, the audio indicated that one of the pilots left the cockpit and could not re-enter, reported The New York Times.

The pilot outside the door can be heard knocking lightly first and then banging on the door when there is no answer. The official added that the recording indicated that the pilot then tried to smash the door, but there is never an answer.

The investigator added that they did not know why one of the guys went out but were sure that at the very end of the flight, the other pilot is alone and does not open the door.

The plunge from a height of 38,000 feet to about 6,000 feet in about 10 minutes was alarming but still gradual enough to indicate that the twin-engine Airbus A320 had not been damaged devastatingly. Also, during the descent, no communication or any other signal of an emergency was received from the cockpit by air traffic controllers.

The report said that when the plane slammed into craggy mountains northeast of Nice, it was travelling with enough speed that it was all but pulverized, killing all 144 passengers and crew of six.

France's Bureau of Investigations and Analyses said that the recording only comprised human voices and other cockpit sounds and added that it would be subjected to a detailed analysis.

On being asked about the new evidence revealed during the probe, Martine del Bono, a bureau spokeswoman, declined to comment and said that a press conference will be organized as soon as they have accurate information.