'Copilot deliberately took the plane down' said the prosecutor of Marseille

In a press conference, Robin said that the last 30 minutes of black box recordings show that the copilot was in control of the flight when the crash happened.

He said the copilot "voluntarily" put the aircraft into a dive, and he was alive until the moment of impact.

"The copilot intentionally kept the pilot outside the cockpit and took the Germanwings plane into a dive," Robin said. "The intention was to destroy this plane."

The prosecutor said that the copilot didn't sent a distress call, and ignored the one sent by aviation officers in the ground.

Robin identified the copilot as Andreas Lubitz, 28, a German citizen.

"We can hear him breathing in the cockpit until the last moment of the crash," the prosecutor added. "There was an absolute silence inside the cockpit. Nothing, no word during the last 10 minutes." 

"However, this was not a terrorist act," the prosecutor said. "He is not known as a terrorist, absolutely not," Robin said. Asked if it was a suicide, the prosecutor said that he could not make a determination.

Robin added the death of the passengers was "sudden and immediate." 

"We can hear cries only in the very last moments," he said.

Meanwhile, search and rescue teams are continuing to recover the bodies of the victims, which will take until the end of next week, according to the prosecutor.

Families of the victims as well as of the crew have arrived at Marseille on Thursday and met the prosecutor. They are due to visit the crash site during the day.

Anadolu Agency