Victims’ families mark 1 year since doomed Germanwings flight
LE VERNET, France — In a solemn day of remembrance, grieving families gathered in a French Alpine village to pay homage to loved ones a year after the co-pilot of a Germanwings plane flew the passenger jet into a mountainside, killing all 150 people aboard.
The Airbus A320 was en route from Barcelona to Duesseldorf when co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, 27, locked the pilot out of the cockpit and thrust the aircraft into an accelerated dive.
France’s accident investigating body, the BEA, said in a report released this month that the remains of Lubitz, who had a long history of psychological problems, bore traces of antidepressants and a sleeping medication.
Some families of British and German victims plan to take legal action against the Arizona flight school, where Lufthansa trains commercial pilots, alleging Lubitz should have been prevented from qualifying, the Britain-based Irwin Mitchell law firm said this week.