Andreas Lubitz "wanted to see his dream of flying fulfilled," says the flying club of the co-pilot who appears to have deliberately crashed Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 into the French Alps, killing 150 people.
Brice Robin, the prosecutor in Marseille, France, identified the 28-year-old Lubitz as the co-pilot of the plane that was flying from Barcelona, Spain, to Duesseldorf, Germany. Media reports say Lubitz lived in Montabaur, Germany, where the LSC Westerwald flight club is located.
Soon after the crash, the club posted the following statement on its website, which has since crashed:
"As a youth, Andreas became a member of the club, he wanted to see his dream of flying fulfilled. He started as a gliding student and managed to become a pilot of the Airbus A320. He succeeded in fulfilling his dream, a dream that he paid for with his life. "The members of LSC Westerwald are grieving for Andreas and all the other 149 victims of the catastrophe of March 24, 2015. "Our deepest condolences to the relatives. "We will not forget Andreas."
Neighbors described Lubitz as friendly and pursuing his dreams "with vigor," The Guardian reported.
Robin said Lubitz was not linked to terrorism in any way, an assertion supported by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière.
Lubitz, who had 630 hours of flying time under his belt, joined Germanwings in September 2013, directly after training.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said Lobitz had gone through "psychological tests with flying colors." But he went through an interruption in training, a "long break." Spohr said he did not know the reason for the break, adding it could be medical, but privacy rules would bar him from knowing what those reasons were.
"There was never any doubt over his competence or skills," he said.
And, he added: "It's going to take a long time before we can unravel everything here."
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