Andreas Lubitz Supporters Share Conspiracy Theories About Germanwings Plane Crash

Conspiracy Theories Emerge About The Germanwings Plane Crash

Supporters of a co-pilot believed to have deliberately steered a Germanwingsplane into the French Alps are alleging he was framed as part of a corporate cover-up.

But a Facebook group entitled Andreas Lubitz A320 wir sind gegen die Hetzjagd (Andreas Lubitz A320 we are against the witch hunt) is providing a platform for other threads of dubious speculation.

Prosecutors say Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed Germanwings flight A320 last week

Among those theories is the completely unfounded allegation Germanwings parent company Lufthansa manipulated the audio retrieved from the black box recorder to hide mechanical problems, making Lubitz, as Vocativ puts it, “the fall guy”.

Vocativ adds: "Other commenters noted that only one of the two black boxes on the plane has been recovered, which they say is suspicious and is further evidence of a Lufthansa cover-up."

The Facebook group, which at time of publication had nearly 5,000 ‘likes’, also points the finger of blame at the media, stating: “We don’t believe the lying press, they are looking for a scapegoat to cover up the technical problems.”

Another reads: "This is probably the reason you wont find the black box! It records all data and movements of the aircraft. It stores everything, every button is pressed in the cockpit or cabin, even the flush and the water flow of the toiler is stored.

"It's just ridiculous that they claim not to have found the black box. The black box has GPS - transmitter and an identifier for the location!"

Das wird wohl der Grund sein, warum man den Flugschreiber nicht finden will!Der Flugschreiber registriert alle Daten...

Posted by Andreas Lubitz A320 wir sind gegen die Hetzjagd. on Saturday, 28 March 2015

Several flights were cancelled in the wake of the crash after a number of crew members refused to fly, thought safety concerns were not cited as a factor.

Emergency crews are at the scene to retrieve bodies and personal belongings

Another motion on the Facebook page posits that the crash was the result of a failed “liquid lasers” manoeuvre by the US armed forces.

It states: "The American Northern Fleet was experimenting with liquid lasers, the 'High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System'. But instead of an intercontinental test rocket, it accidentally hit the Germanwings plane."

+++ Eilmeldung+++ – US-Streitkräfte schiessen Germanwing-Maschine ab“Der tragische Crash der Germanwing-Maschine ist...

Posted by Andreas Lubitz A320 wir sind gegen die Hetzjagd. on Wednesday, 1 April 2015

Further posters have suggested quotes from Lubitz’s ex-girlfriend stating he hoped to “do something” for the world to remember him by planted in an attempt to “smear” him, with one commenter remarking: “I’d be interested in how much money she was offered.”

One post says: "I have big problems, what with the confetti and what the media are telling us. We have had many spectacular aviation accidents in the past, where were the leaders and the media hype then?"

Ich habe große Probleme, mit dem Konfetti und das, was uns die Medien erzählen. Wir hatten in der Vergangenheit viele spektakuläre Flugzeugunglücke, wo waren dort die Regierungschefs und der Medienhype?

Posted by Andreas Lubitz A320 wir sind gegen die Hetzjagd. on Wednesday, 1 April 2015

The Washington Post cites a Boeing study that analysed five decades of air disasters and found that for every million takeoffs, the A320 fleet has about 0.14 fatal accidents.

“In terms of accident rates, it’s one of the safest jets built,” aviation expert Richard Aboulafia told the newspaper.

He added: “There are no reasons to question its record.”

The crash is the first recorded accident involving passenger deaths since the carrier was founded in 2002.

Germany's Spiegel magazine has reported an incident from 2010, when two pilots nearly passed out as they landed in Cologne. The magazine said contaminated cabin air was suspected.

Lufthansa has not recorded a passenger fatality since 1993, when another Airbus A320 overshot a runway in Warsaw, Poland, killing one crew and one of 64 passengers.

German media have widely reported an incident on 5 November in which a Lufthansa A321-200 flying from Bilbao, Spain, to Munich, Germany, went into a sudden dive shortly after reaching cruising altitude. The dive was believed connected to faulty data from frozen flight data sensors. The crew was able to switch off a flight computer and regain control.

Germanwings, which has a fleet of around 78 aircraft flying to 130 destinations, plays a key role in Lufthansa's effort to compete against low-cost carriers such as Easyjet and Ryanair.

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