Germanwings pilot was ‘locked out of cockpit’ minutes before deadly crash

When Germanwings flight 4U 9525 suddenly crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 onboard, air safely experts were left shocked and confused as to how the aircraft fell into trouble.

The Airbus model- dubbed the ‘Ford Focus of aircraft’- is considered one of the safest in the world, but the plane was still lost just an hour before it was due to land in Dusseldorf on Tuesday.

As air crash investigators piece together the aircraft’s final moments, it has emerged that one of the pilots was allegedly ‘locked out’ of the cockpit.

According to reports, he tried to ‘smash the door down’ minutes before the plane fell from the sky.

An unnamed military investigator told the New York Times: “The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door and there is no answer.

“And then he hits the door stronger and no answer. There is never an answer. You can hear he is trying to smash the door down.”

There is no indication on the status of the pilot remaining in the cockpit, with his ‘condition or activity’ unknown during the minutes leading up to the crash.

Investigators are still searching for an inflight recorder- apparently the same size as an iPhone- which is amongst the wreckage in the French Alps.

Amongst those killed in the crash are 16 German school children returning from a group trip in Spain.

Three Britons were also lost in the tragic crash.