Germanwings co-pilot practised crash descent on previous flight

Berlin, May 6: Andreas Lubitz, the German co-pilot who deliberately crashed a passenger plane into the French Alps, had rehearsed the crash descent on the same day, in the same plane during a previous flight, the German Bild newspaper, citing an official French aviation report, stated on Wednesday, May 6.

The report, which analysed data from the plane's second black box, will be announced in full on Wednesday and will be made available to the prosecution. [Germanwings crash co-pilot hid 'illness' from airline]

During a separate outbound journey on March 24, Lubitz practised the rapid descent of the plane, reducing the altitude without justification.

The new information indicates that Lubitz had premeditated the crash, and that it was not the result of a spontaneous crisis.

IANS