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MONTABAUR, Germany (AP) — The pastor of the Lutheran church in Andreas Lubitz's hometown says the community stands by him and his family, despite the fact that prosecutors blame the 27-year-old co-pilot for causing the plane crash that killed 150 people in southern France.
The town of Montabaur has been rattled by the revelation that Lubitz may have intentionally caused Tuesday's crash of Germanwings Flight 9525. Pastor Michael Dietrich says the community will not hide from the fact that Lubitz was from there and wants to support his family.
French prosecutors say they haven't questioned the family yet "out of decency and respect for their pain."
They are trying to understand what made Lubitz lock his fellow pilot out of the cockpit and ignore his pleas to open the door before slamming the plane into a mountain on what should have been a routine flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.
Meanwhile, prosecutors say none of the bodies recovered so far have been identified, denying German media reports that Lubitz's body has been found.
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139-r-05-(Sound of church bells tolling, as church service is being held in the hometown of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz)--Sound of bells tolling as a church service is being held in the hometown of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to commemorate the victims of the Germanwings plane crash. (29 Mar 2015)
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138-r-23-(Sound of Reverend Michael Dietrich (DEE'-trihk), speaking in German, in interview)--Sound of Reverend Michael Dietrich of German Protestant church in Andreas Lubitz' hometown saying the church community is standing by and supporting the family of the co-pilot. (29 Mar 2015)
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113-a-13-(Dr. Erin Bowen, Chair, Behavioral and Safety Sciences Department and Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in interview)-"like personality inventories"-Aviation psychology expert Erin Bowen says she doesn't think the mental health checks in place right now for pilots could have prevented the crash. COURTESY: NBC's 'Meet the Press' ((mandatory on-air credit)) (29 Mar 2015)
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114-a-12-(Dr. Erin Bowen, Chair, Behavioral and Safety Sciences Department and Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in interview)-"culture and industry"-Aviation psychology expert Erin Bowen says it would not have mattered if pilot Andreas Lubitz had more training hours in the sky. COURTESY: NBC's 'Meet the Press' ((mandatory on-air credit)) (29 Mar 2015)
<<CUT *114 (03/29/15)££ 00:12 "culture and industry"
112-a-12-(Dr. Erin Bowen, Chair, Behavioral and Safety Sciences Department and Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in interview)-"not that sophisticated"-Aviation psychology expert Erin Bowen says she doesn't think a mental health check, in this case, would have stopped the co-pilot from deliberately slamming the plane into a remote mountainside in the French Alps. COURTESY: NBC's 'Meet the Press' ((mandatory on-air credit)) (29 Mar 2015)
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APPHOTO CLP106: The German, left, and Japanese flags are deployed during an homage ceremony with family members of Japanese victims in the area where the Germanwings jetliner crashed in the French Alps, in Le Vernet, France, Sunday, March 29, 2015. The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 into an Alpine mountain Tuesday killed all 150 people aboard, and has raised questions about the mental state of the co-pilot. Authorities believe the 27-year-old German deliberately sought to destroy the Airbus A320 as it flew from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. (AP Photo/Claude Paris) (29 Mar 2015)
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APPHOTO CLP102: Flowers are offered in front of a stele, a stone slab erected as a monument, in the area where a Germanwings aircraft crashed in the French Alps, in Le Vernet, France, Sunday, March 29, 2015. The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 into an Alpine mountain Tuesday killed all 150 people aboard, and has raised questions about the mental state of the co-pilot. Authorities believe the 27-year-old German deliberately sought to destroy the Airbus A320 as it flew from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. (AP Photo/Claude Paris) (29 Mar 2015)
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APPHOTO CLP121: THIS SATURDAY MARCH 28, 2015 IMAGE shows family members of a victim, among which Philip Bramley, center, paying tribute in front of a stele set up in memory of the victims in the area where the Germanwings jetliner crashed in the French Alps, in Le Vernet, France. The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 into an Alpine mountain, which killed all 150 people aboard, has raised questions about the mental state of the co-pilot. Authorities believe the 27-year-old German deliberately sought to destroy the Airbus A320 as it flew Tuesday from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. (AP Photo/Claude Paris) (29 Mar 2015)
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