On the eve of the Germanwings crash's one-year anniversary, family members and friends have honored the victims. Authorities recommended new regulatory measures to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Dalmau
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The victims' family members and friends on Wednesday attended a memorial ceremony outside Terminal 2 at Barcelona's international airport on the eve of the Germanwings tragedy's anniversary.
On March 24, 2015, Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed flight 9525 en route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf into a mountain near the French village Le Vernet, killing all 150 passengers and crew members on board.
"I remember this day with great pain," said Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. "The best way of honoring the victims is to do everything to make sure that such a catastrophe won't be repeated."
Preventing another tragedy
Following the crash, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recommended two crew members, including a pilot, remain in the flight crew compartment at all times.
The EASA's suggestion was a response to co-pilot Lubtiz locking himself in the cockpit, alone, after the pilot exited the compartment. He then proceeded to reset the aircraft's altitude levels to ensure a collision with the ground. On longer-haul flights, a cabin crew member must go into the cockpit if one of the pilots leaves.
Earlier this month, French aviation investigators revealed that a German doctor referred Lubitz to a psychiatric clinic two weeks prior to the crash. However, the co-pilot intentionally withheld the information from his employer.
In their report on the crash, the investigators recommended clearer regulatory measures regarding medical nondisclosure of a pilot's mental health history to prevent a similar tragedy.
Germanwings crash: Investigators call for new mental health checks for pilots
French investigators have released their final report into the Germanwings plane crash.They believe co-pilot Andreas Lubitz steered the jetliner into the French Alps mountainside last March, killing 150 people on board.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Estevez
Doctors must report mentally ill pilots
The BEA air investigation agency said new guidelines were needed to ensure pilots are properly screened for serious mental health conditions. Doctors should warn authorities if a pilot's psychological state poses a threat to public safety, the report said. But it stopped short of calling for regular psychiatric tests for all pilots.
Image: Reuters/French Interior Ministry/Handout
Lubitz had 'psychotic' incident before crash
The French report revealed how co-pilot Andreas Lubitz was advised to seek treatment at a psychiatric clinic just two weeks before the crash. Investigators said doctors had described his symptoms as compatible with a psychotic episode. Despite a history of depression and the fact he was on two antidepressants at the time of the crash, none of his doctors reported their concerns to authorities.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Foto-Team-Müller
Pilots' privacy or passengers' safety?
Arnaud Desjardins, the head of the French investigators, said on Sunday that the pilot certification process failed to identify the risks posed by Lubitz' severe depression. Germany's confidentiality laws were especially strict and clearer guidelines were needed to establish when public safety outweighed patient privacy, the report said. Germanwings maintains it knew nothing of Lubitz' illness.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/I. Langsdon
Flight 9525's 10-minute descent
On March 24, 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps during a flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. It was carrying 144 passengers and six crew, mostly Germans and Spaniards. Within hours, French investigators said they believed the co-pilot had deliberately caused the tragedy by locking the pilot out of the cockpit and setting the autopilot to a height of just 100 meters (328 ft).
Murder-suicide at high speed
At 10:31 CET, Flight 9525 left its cruising altitude of 12,000 meters (38,000 feet) and began to descend rapidly. French air traffic controllers attempted to make contact but there was no response from the flight deck. Later, audio from the black box flight recorder revealed how the pilot attempted to get back into the cockpit, while Lubitz' breathing remained steady throughout the descent.
Image: Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes
No new cockpit rules recommended
The French report did not request a change to cockpit security, despite Lubitz being able to lock the plane's pilot out of the flight deck. The locking system was introduced to keep hijackers from gaining access to the cockpit after 9/11. Following the Germanwings crash, several airlines have made it compulsory to have two people in the cockpit at all times during the flight.
Image: Reuters/L. Foeger
Families want lessons learned
Lawyers for the victims' families say Lubitz' doctors, a US flight training school and the airline were responsible for failing to detect, and act on, his psychological problems. Lubitz had suffered a severe depressive episode during his pilot's training in 2009. The families were informed of the details of the report on Saturday in Barcelona and Bonn, a day before its release.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Fernandez
Victims' remains brought home
The remains of 16 German teenagers and two teachers who had been in Barcelona on a school exchange and were killed in the crash traveled in a convoy of white hearses when they arrived back in Germany two months after the crash. In their home town Haltern, 18 trees - one for each victim - have been planted outside their school.
Image: Reuters/I. Fassbender
New start for the low-cost carrier
Since the tragedy, Germanwings has rebranded and become Eurowings. On Sunday, its parent company Lufthansa welcomed the French recommendations. In a brief statement, the German carrier said that "ensuring the highest possible flight safety was and remains our utmost priority." The company said it would "support the possible implementation of concrete measures" based on the BEA report.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Deutsche Lufthansa
Flight 9525 victims remembered
A monument in memory of the victims stands in the village of Le Vernet in southeastern France. Located close to the mountainous crash site, the tiny hamlet has become a permanent place of memorial for many of the relatives. Over the past year, several trips have been arranged to help the families of those killed get some sort of closure after the tragedy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Estevez
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Moment of silence
Meanwhile, the mayor of the German town Haltern am See said a minute of silence would be observed at 10:41 am local time (0941 UTC/GMT) after which a memorial ceremony would be held at a local church. Sixteen high school students and two teachers from Haltern am See's Joseph-König Gymnasium were killed in the crash.
A plaque was also unveiled at Düsseldorf airport commemorating the lives of those lost in the tragedy, reported public broadcaster WDR. A memorial service with families of the victims will be held on Thursday near the crash site.