Germanwings pilot Andreas Gunter Lubitz locked the plane’s captain out of the aircraft’s cockpit before crashing the Airbus into the side of mountain, reveal French prosecutors.
After listening to recordings of the aircraft’s last moments, investigators came to the conclusion that Lubitz purposely intended to bring down the plane after suffering from mental illness.
The conclusion came after it was revealed that the 28-year-old took a break from his pilot training in 2008 due to depression.
According to cockpit voice recordings, Lubitz locked his captain out the cockpit and he can be heard banging on the door trying to re-enter.
The plane was then manually put into descent.
Prosecutor Brice Robin said: “The intention was to destroy the plane. Death was instant. The plane hit the mountain at 700kmh (430mph).
“I don't think that the passengers realised what was happening until the last moments because on the recording you only hear the screams in the final seconds.
“He did this for a reason which we don't know why, but we can only deduct that he destroyed this plane.”
Among those killed on the plane were 16 German school children and 3 Britons, including a 7-month-old baby.