Investigators say the second black box proves Germanwings co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane into the French Alps killing 150 people
The second black box found after the Germanwings plane crashed into the French Alps last month has confirmed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately caused the disaster, French investigators said.
According to the investigators, he repeatedly accelerated the airline as he crashed into a mountain in the French Alps killing 150 people.
"A first reading shows that the pilot in the cockpit used the automatic pilot to descend the plane towards an altitude of 100 feet (30 metres). Then, several times during the descent, the pilot changed the automatic pilot settings to increase the aircraft's speed," BEA said.
The information from the flight data recorder comes a day after authorities found the second black box, nine days after the crash.
BEA added that they were "continuing to determine the precise sequence of events during the flight".
The plane smashed into the mountains last week at a speed of 430 miles an hour, instantly killing everyone on board - half of them German and more than 50 from Spain.
The latest development in the tragedy came on Thursday with the discovery that Andreas Lubitz had sought information online about suicide and cockpit doors.
Other facts that have come to light include that the 27-year-old was diagnosed as suicidal "several years ago", before he became a pilot.
Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, has come under huge pressure since the crash after it was revealed that Lubitz had told his bosses that he had suffered from severe depression.
The German flag carrier said the co-pilot had told the airline in 2009 about his illness after interrupting his flight training.