A cell phone video found in the Germanwings wreckage reportedly shows the flight's final moments
Emmanuel Foudrot/Reuters
The video, obtained by French magazine Paris Match and the German tabloid Bild, "was so chaotic that it was hard to identify people, but the sounds of the screaming passengers made it perfectly clear that they were aware of what was about to happen to them," reports Paris Match.
Screams of "Oh my God" in several different languages can reportedly be heard on the video, as well as a heavy banging - presumably that of the pilot on the cockpit door, according to the French magazine. At one point the camera shakes violently, likely at the moment the plane's right wing hit a mountain before crashing into another head-on.
The scene in the video allegedly matches the audio picked up by the cockpit's voice recording, the details of which were leaked to the media earlier this week and first released by German tabloid Bild.
In the recording, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz can be heard encouraging the pilot, Patrick Sondheimer, to leave the cockpit throughout the flight. Once the plane reaches cruising altitude, Sondheimer starts briefing Lubitz on their coming landing in Düsseldorf. Lubitz reportedly replies: "Hopefully" and "We'll see." After that, Lubitz again offers to take over the controls while Sondheimer is in the bathroom, saying, "You can go now."
Sondheimer was heard banging on the cockpit door and reportedly tried to break through it with an axe before the plane went down. Passengers could be heard screaming before the plane crashed.
All 150 people on board the plane died in the crash.
27-year-old German national Andreas Lubitz - described by people close to him last Thursday as a "rather quiet," "polite," and "fun" young man - reportedly told his ex-girlfriend that he was disillusioned with his career at Germanwings and that he wanted to "change the system."
Bild reported on Friday that Lubitz received psychiatric treatment for a "serious depressive episode" six years ago and was having relationship troubles with his girlfriend before the crash. His girlfriend has since acknowledged to French officials that she never knew the extent of his mental health problems.
Lufthansa has since gone back on its claim that the company did not know of any reason why Lubitz might have downed the plane, and is now saying that Lubitz had informed his employers via email about his battle with severe depression.
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