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Alps crash captain shouted ‘open the damn door’

– ‘Alone in cockpit’ –

Germanwings pilot Frank Woiton was quoted in Saturday’s edition of Bild as saying he had flown with Lubitz, who had spoken about his ambitions to become a captain and fly long-distance routes.

He told the newspaper Lubitz handled the plane well and “therefore I also left him alone in the cockpit to go to the toilet”.

French police investigator Jean-Pierre Michel told AFP that Lubitz’s personality was a “serious lead” in the inquiry but not the only one.

The investigation has so far not turned up a “particular element” in the co-pilot’s life which could explain his alleged action in the ill-fated Airbus plane, he said.

German prosecutors revealed that searches of Lubitz’s homes netted “medical documents that suggest an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment”, including “torn-up and current sick leave notes, among them one covering the day of the crash”.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said that Lubitz had suspended his pilot training, which began in 2008, “for a certain period”, before restarting and qualifying for the Airbus A320 in 2013.

The second in command had passed all psychological tests required for training, he told reporters.

– National ceremony –

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Germany is to hold a national memorial ceremony and service on April 17 for the victims of Tuesday’s disaster, half of whom were German, with Spain accounting for at least 50 and the remainder composed of more than a dozen other nationalities.

Around 500 people earlier Saturday attended a religious ceremony in the French town of Digne-les-Bains, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the remote Alpine crash zone where searchers are recovering the victims’ remains and evidence.

Candles for each of the victims were placed in front of the cathedral’s altar.

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