FBI Conducted Interviews With Flight Instructors In Arizona

The Germanwings copilot who last year deliberately flew an Airbus A320 into a mountainside in France had struggled in flight school, according to new information released to the public.

Fox News reports that in interviews with Andreas Lubitz' flight instructors at Lufthansa's flight school in Arizona it was revealed that Lubitz had failed a key skills test during his training there, but was promoted despite the failure.

Instructor Juergen Theerkorn told the FBI that Lubitz was "not an ace pilot," and that he had failed the test due to "situational awareness issues." Another instructor, Scott Nickell, said that he had problems with "procedural knowledge," had had difficulty both watching instruments and paying attention to what was going on outside the airplane. But while he was not the best student, he scored well enough to continue the program, according to Nickell.

Matthias Kippenberg, president and CEO of the Airline Training Center in Arizona, told the FBI that Lubitz had failed one of five checkrides, but said that failure was "unremarkable." Students are given the opportunity to retake tests, he said, and only one or two percent wash out of the program.

The interviews were conducted a week following the deliberate crash March 24, 2015, but only recently released by German prosecutors. The crash fatally injured all 144 passengers and six crew on board the airplane.

FMI: www.fbi.gov