MONTABAUR, Germany (AP) – Andreas Lubitz first took to the skies as a teenage glider pilot flying from an idyllic grass runway in the hills of western Germany, and never showed any sign he was anything but thrilled to have landed a job with Germanwings, according to those who taught him the trade.
On Thursday, French prosecutors said Lubitz, the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, “intentionally” crashed the jet into the side of a mountain.
Members of the hometown flight club in Montabaur, where he renewed his glider license only last fall, told The Associated Press on Thursday the 28-year-old appeared to be happy with the job he had at the airline, a low-cost carrier in the Lufthansa Group.
After starting his job with Germanwings in September 2013, Lubitz was upbeat when he returned to the LSC Westerwald e.V glider club in the fall to renew his glider pilots’ license with 20 or so takeoffs.
“He has happy he had the job with Germanwings and he was doing well,” said longtime club member Peter Ruecker, who watched him learn to fly. “He was very happy, he gave off a good feeling.”