Accidents
FDR Confirms Germanwings Co-pilot Set Autopilot For Crash
Information recovered from the A320's descent confirmed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz set the autopilot for a fatal controlled flight into the French Alps.
The flight data recorder of the Germanwings A320 was partly damaged during the crash but investigators have been able to retrieve information from it. (Photo: BEA)
The flight data recorder of the Germanwings A320 was partly damaged during the crash but investigators have been able to retrieve information from it. (Photo: BEA)

Based on information recovered from the the flight data recorder (FDR) of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed on March 24, French accident investigation agency BEA on Friday confirmed that the aircraft's co-pilot used the autopilot to initiate a descent to 100 feet, changing settings several times to increase speed. In a brief statement issued on April 3, the BEA confirmed initial findings from the FDR, which it delivered to its Paris headquarters late on April 2.