Co- pilot urged pilot to leave cabin

Evidence has emerged that Andreas Lubitz, the co- pilot who last week brought down the Germanwings plane over the Alps, carefully planned his decision to lock the captain out of the cockpit and crash the aircraft.

Details from a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder from Flight 9525, leaked to a German newspaper, appear to show that Lubitz repeatedly badgered Capt. Patrick Sonderheimer to leave him alone on the flight deck.

Chillingly, when Sonderheimer tried to brief Lubitz on plans for a routine landing in Dusseldorf, the first officer replied: “Hopefully ” and “We’ll see.”

In the closing moments of the recording, Sonderheimer can be heard pleading with Lubitz to open the door before trying to break it down.

Lubitz flew the Airbus 320 into the French Alps last Tuesday, killing all 150 people on board.

The cockpit voice recorder, one of the plane’s two boxes, was swiftly recovered.

Brice Robin, the French prosecutor in charge of the case, said last week that the recording indicated that Lubitz deliberately locked the captain out of the cockpit and set the plane in a fatal descent.

German newspaper Bild am Sonntag claimed it had obtained a transcript of the recording. Details from it appear to show that Lubitz’s decision to lock the captain out was not a spontaneous act, as had been previously thought.

He did not simply take advantage when the captain slipped out, but actively encouraged him to leave the flight deck.

The recording, which i s an hour- and- a- half long, begins with Sonderheimer making a routine announcement to passengers, apologizing for the late departure, according to Bild.

In the 20 minutes that follow, Sonderheimer can be heard telling Lubitz that he hadn’t had time to go to the washroom during their stopover in Barcelona.

It is at this point that Lubitz first suggests Sonderheimer leave him alone in the cockpit, offering to take over.

Once the aircraft reaches its cruising height of 38,000 feet, Sonderheimer briefs Lubitz on a landing in Dusseldorf.

Once the briefing for the planned landing was complete, Lubitz again encouraged Sonderheimer to go to the washroom and leave him alone in the cockpit. “You can go now,” he says.

It is a full two minutes before Sonderheimer takes him up on the offer. “You can take over,” he says. He can be heard pushing back his seat, and then there is the sound of the cockpit door closing.

Almost immediately, the aircraft begins its descent. An automated alarm can be heard on the recording, announcing “sink rate” — a warning to pilots that the plane may be descending too fast.

Shortly afterward, a bang can be heard from the cockpit door, followed by Sonderheimer’s voice.

“For God’s sake, open the door,” he shouts, followed by the sound of passengers screaming behind him.

A few minutes later, there is the sound of loud metallic crashes. It is believed the captain tried to break down the door, possibly with a fire axe or a crowbar.

Another automated warning can be heard going off.

Sonderheimer shouts: “Open the damn door!” The passengers can be heard screaming again. It is the last sound noted.

If these details are confirmed, they will be the first evidence that Lubitz planned the crash of Flight 9525 and the deaths of everybody on board.

For God’s sake, open the door. ... Open the damn door! CAPT. PATRICK SONDERHEIMER