- Title: FRANCE-CRASH/MONTABAUR EARLY All quiet in hometown of Germanwings co-pilot
- Date: 29th March 2015
- Summary: MONTABAUR, GERMANY (MARCH 29, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MONTABAUR CASTLE ON HILL TOWN SIGN 'MONTABAUR' STREET WITH WARNING SIGN FOR PLANES OVERHEAD WARNING SIGN FOR PLANES OVERHEAD VARIOUS OF LSC WESTERWALD GLIDING CLUB 'ST PETER IN KETTEN' (ST PETER IN CHAINS) CHURCH VARIOUS OF FLOWERS AND CANDLES AT ENTRANCE TO CHURCH FLOWER, CANDLES AND SIGN READING (German) "WE REMEMBER ALL VICTIMS WHO DIED IN THIS TERRIBLE CRASH, AND ESPECIALLY THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS AT THIS DIFFICULT TIME." ROSES HOUSE BELIEVED TO BELONG TO PARENTS OF GERMANWINGS CO-PILOT ANDREAS LUBITZ POLICE CAR VARIOUS OF HOUSE BELIEVED TO BELONG TO PARENTS OF GERMANWINGS CO-PILOT ANDREAS LUBITZ VARIOUS OF CANDLE OUTSIDE HOUSE BELIEVED TO BELONG TO PARENTS OF GERMANWINGS CO-PILOT ANDREAS LUBITZ HOUSE BELIEVED TO BELONG TO PARENTS OF GERMANWINGS CO-PILOT ANDREAS LUBITZ FLOWERS ON DOORSTOP OF HOUSE BELIEVED TO BELONG TO PARENTS OF GERMANWINGS CO-PILOT ANDREAS LUBITZ VARIOUS OF HOUSE BELIEVED TO BELONG TO PARENTS OF GERMANWINGS CO-PILOT ANDREAS LUBITZ POLICE CAR HOUSE BELIEVED TO BELONG TO PARENTS OF GERMANWINGS CO-PILOT ANDREAS LUBITZ
- Embargoed: 13th April 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA8OE4A4CNMNAKTJFRDP7Q69SLN
- Story Text: All was quiet on Sunday (March 29) in the hometown of the German co-pilot believed to have intentionally crashed an Airbus in the French Alps, killing 150 people.
The world's attention turned to the quiet town of Montabaur in north-west Germany after French prosecutors announced on Thursday (March 26) that 27-year-old Andreas Lubitz appeared to have taken the controls of the Airbus A320, locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately set it veering down from cruising altitude at a speed of 3,000 feet per minute.
Police and journalists descended on the town in the German state of North Rhineland-Westphalia as investigators searched a house believed to belong to Lubitz' parents, but by Sunday almost all had left.
Montabaur seemed almost ghostly in the rain, with no signs of life at the house, the gliding club Lubitz where used to be a member or the local church, where a small number of tributes had been placed by the door in remembrance of the victims.
A single police car was parked near the house believed to belong to Lubitz's parents, where a bunch of roses had been placed on the front step.
German authorities said on Friday (March 27) they had found torn-up sick notes showing that the co-pilot was suffering from an illness that should have grounded him on the day of the tragedy. Germanwings, the budget airline of the flag carrier Lufthansa, has said he had not submitted any sick note at the time.
A Lufthansa spokesman declined to comment.
The crash, which happened on Tuesday (March 24) was the first major air passenger disaster on French soil since the 2000 Concorde accident just outside Paris. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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