Germanwings Flight 9525 Crash: Investigations Reveal Pilot Communication Failure

Preliminary investigations into the tragic Germanwings Flight 9525 crash have revealed a series of unexplained events that have deepened the mystery surrounding the disaster. According to a leaked report from French air traffic controllers, the crew failed to respond to three attempts by air traffic controllers to contact them during the aircraft's eight-minute descent to disaster. The report, obtained by the German newspaper Bild, has been passed to the German authorities and details the three unsuccessful attempts to raise the pilots on the assigned radio frequency and international distress frequency.

Key Takeaways:

• The crew failed to respond to three attempts by air traffic controllers to contact them during the aircraft's eight-minute descent to disaster.
• The first attempt was made on the assigned radio frequency, followed by two unsuccessful attempts on the international distress frequency.
• The fact that the pilots did not respond to any of the calls raises the possibility that the crew were either unconscious or the victims of a hijacking, though terrorism has been all but ruled out.
• The aircraft began its unexplained descent from its assigned cruising altitude at 10:31:02 and reached an average descent rate of approximately 17.8 meters per second (3,500 feet per minute).
• French air traffic control declared an international normalized emergency and informed search and rescue services, but there was no report of the aircraft's Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) being detected.
• One of the plane's black boxes has been found, but it was unclear whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder. Investigators will continue searching for the second black box.
• Weather did not appear to be a factor in the crash, with conditions calm at the time, according to French weather officials.
• Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, stated that it was working on the assumption the crash was an "accident," but any speculation would be premature.

Statistics:

• 10:30:00: Germanwings flight 4U9525 confirmed instructions from French air traffic control.
• 10:31:02: Flight 4U9525 leaves its assigned cruising altitude without approval and begins to descend, reaching an average descent rate of approximately 17.8 meters per second (3,500 feet per minute).
• 10:35:08: Attempts to contact the flight on the international distress frequency are also unsuccessful.
• 10:36:00: French air traffic control declares an international normalized emergency and informs search and rescue services.
• 10:40:00: Flight 4U9525 disappears from radar, with the last known altitude at approximately 1890 meters (6,200 feet).
• 300 policemen and 380 firefighters have been mobilised to aid in the search and rescue efforts.
• The crash site is believed to be scattered over four acres of remote and inaccessible mountainous terrain, hampering rescue efforts.

Sources:

• Bild newspaper
• French air traffic controllers
• Lufthansa
• French weather officials
• Germanwings Flight 9525 crash report
• French President Francois Hollande
• German President Angela Merkel
• Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy