Germanwings pilot rehearsed crashing plane on previous flight to Spain before killing all 150 onboard in Alps crash

A DEVELOPMENT to the tragic Germanwings story has revealed that pilot Andreas Lubitz rehearsed putting the plane into a controlled dive in the outward flight from Germany to Spain.

It wasn’t until the return flight that Lubitz, 27, smashed the Airbus A320 into the French alps by locking the captain out of the cockpit and sending the plane into descent.

The Barcelona – Dusseldorf that lost 150 lives has led to extensive investigation into mental health of Lubitz, who had gone to work having destroyed his sick note.

French air accident bureau BEA reported Lubitz’s trial runs, putting the earlier flight into descent mode five times over almost five minutes, changing the auto-pilot to 100 ft.

The BEA said it is continuing to investigate ‘systemic failings’ that led to this accident.