An Airbus training video shows that the A320 cockpit has safeguards in case one pilot inside becomes incapacitated while the other is outside, or if both pilots inside are unconscious. Normally, someone trying to get into the cockpit requests access and a camera feed or peephole lets the pilot decide whether to accept or specifically deny access.
If there is no response, a member of the flight crew can tap in an emergency code again requesting access. If there is still no response, the door opens automatically. If, however, the person in the cockpit denies access after the emergency request, the door remains locked for five minutes, according to the Airbus video.
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8:55 a.m. (0755 GMT, 3:55 a.m. EDT)
Lufthansa says the co-pilot joined Germanwings in September 2013, directly after training, and had flown 630 hours.
The captain had more than 6,000 hours of flying time and been Germanwings pilot since May 2014, having previously flown for Lufthansa and Condor, Lufthansa said.
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8:20 a.m. (0720 GMT, 3:20 a.m. EDT)
An official with knowledge of the audio recordings from the Germanwings flight says one of the pilots apparently was locked out of the cockpit when the plane went down.
The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation, told The Associated Press Thursday the details emerged from recordings recovered from the black box found among the debris of the pulverized aircraft.
Lufthansa on Thursday said it had no new information about the investigation and could neither confirm nor deny reports about the pilot.
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