Germanwings Co-Pilot Named as Andreas Lubitz

An undated handout picture issued by Airbus shows an A320 cockpit. One of the two pilots of Germanwings Flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit when it crashed. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency

Andreas Lubitz, the 28-year-old co-pilot who a French prosecutor has said appeared to fly Germanwings Flight 9525 intentionally into the French Alps, was a member of a German flying club that said he joined the group as a youth to “fulfill his dream of flying.”


In a news conference Thursday, the French prosecutor in charge of the crash probe named Mr. Lubitz as the co-pilot, and said he appeared to have locked himself into the cockpit, preventing his more-experienced pilot to re-enter, after the pilot had briefly left the cockpit.

According to parent company Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Mr. Lubitz joined Germanwings, its budget carrier, in 2013 and had 630 flight hours. He completed flight training with Lufthansa in Bremen, Germany. He comes from the town of Montabaur, about 60 miles northwest of Frankfurt. The town issued a statement on Thursday expressing sympathy with the family but didn’t name Mr. Lubitz.

It wasn’t immediately possible to reach family members or representatives of Mr. Lubitz.

Flight 9525 crashed Tuesday en route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf with 150 people on board.

Germanwings and Lufthansa have declined to reveal the names of the pilots or any other details.