Germanwings co-pilot likely crashed jet deliberately: prosecutor

A rescue helicopter from the French Gendarmerie lands behind a media satellite dish seen during operations near the crash site of an Airbus A320, in Seyne-les-Alpes, March 26, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

POST-9/11 RULES

The BEA said the plane started descending a minute after reaching cruising height and lost altitude for over nine minutes. The pilot's last words to the ground confirmed the next navigational waypoint, ending with a call-sign and "thank you".

Pilots may temporarily leave the cockpit at certain times and in certain circumstances, such whilst the aircraft is cruising, according to German aviation law.

Lufthansa said that its cockpit doors can be opened from the outside with a code, in line with regulations introduced after the Sept. 11 attacks. However, the code system can be blocked from inside the cockpit, according to an Airbus promotional video posted online and confirmed by the planemaker.

The BEA on Wednesday already ruled out a mid-air explosion and said the scenario did not look like a depressurisation.

It also noted the airliner had flown in a straight line directly into the mountain, but had no word on whether that seemed to be at the hand of a pilot or auto-pilot.

Germanwings said 72 Germans were killed in the first major air passenger disaster on French soil since the 2000 Concorde accident just outside Paris. Madrid revised down on Thursday the number of Spanish victims to 50 from 51 previously.

As well as Germans and Spaniards, victims included three Americans, a Moroccan and citizens of Britain, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Iran and the Netherlands, officials said. However, DNA checks to identify them could take weeks, the French government said.

The families of victims were being flown to Marseille on Thursday before being taken up to the zone close to the crash site. Chapels had been prepared for them with a view of the mountain where their loved ones died.