The flight is to take off 20 minutes late, and Sonderheimer apologizes for the delay and says the crew will try to make up the time in the air.

Before takeoff, the captain tells Lubitz that he didn’t have time to go to the bathroom before leaving Barcelona. Lubitz tells him he can go anytime.

The plane takes off, and climbs.

10:27 a.m.: The aircraft is at 38,000 feet. The captain asks the copilot to prepare the landing. Lubitz replies “hopefully” and “we’ll see.”

After the check, Lubitz repeats to the captain, “You can go now.”

There is the sound of a seat moving backward. The captain says, “You can take over.”

There is the sound of a door clicking.

10:29 a.m.: Air traffic radar detects that the plane is beginning to descend.

10:32 a.m.: Air traffic controllers contact the plane and receive no answer. Around the same time, an alarm in the cockpit sounds: “Sink rate.”

There follows a bang on the door. The pilot can be heard shouting: “For God’s sake, open the door!” Passengers can be heard screaming.

10:35 a.m.: There is the sound of loud metallic banging as if someone is hitting the cockpit door. The plane is now at 23,000 feet.

10:36-10:37 a.m.: An alarm sounds: “Terrain … pull up.” The plane is at 16,400 feet.

The captain is shouting: “Open the damn door!”

10:38 a.m.: The plane is at about 13,100 feet. Lubitz can be heard breathing.

10:40 a.m.: The sound of what is believed to be the plane’s right wing scraping the mountaintop can be heard. Screams of passengers are the last sounds on the recording.

This is the summary of the Germanwings flight 9525 timeline, as published in Bild, happening moments before impact and was later pulled from the wreckage. This is what transpired on board the flight, 14 seconds before it slammed into the French Alps, instantly killing all 150 people aboard. Most disturbing of all, what first appeared to be a random tragedy, turned out to be a deliberate act of the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, who had locked the door of the cockpit and deliberately put the aircraft into descent.

Last week, Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr told journalists that Lubitz had passed all technical, physical and psychological tests and was therefore “100% fit” to fly. However, German investigators discovered torn-up notes at Lubitz’s home showing that he had been excused from work by his doctor for a period of time, which included the day of the crash. Lubitz is also reported to have been undergoing treatment for depression. German police found medication for psychological conditions to support this and there are suggestions he also had vision problems. These problems would have ended his career as well as his dream of becoming a captain on long-haul flights. Germanwings and its parent company, Lufthansa, say they never received a sick note from Lubitz, which suggests that he hid his illness from the airline.

Investigators in Germany are trying to piece together a profile of Lubitz to establish what motive he had for downing the aircraft. However, his family seems to be of little help as they continue to stand by him, as well as his surrounding community back in Germany, despite the compelling evidence that continues to mount against him. However, his ex-girlfriend, named only as Maria W., 26, a flight attendant, told Bild that Lubitz had said to her: “One day I’m going to do something that will change the whole system, and everyone will know my name and remember it.” She follows up her statement by saying: “I never knew what he meant by that, but now it makes sense.” She also added that at night Lubitz was troubled by nightmares and would wake up screaming, “We’re going down!”

Despite his odd behavior and health problems, no one could have suspected that the young 27 year old could commit such an act. In fact, many are still in denial and disbelief. German police continue to investigate and the families and friends of the now deceased passengers continue to mourn their loss. The United States is no exception, considering there were two Americans on board, a mother and her daughter.

The Germanwings airlines could face tremendous consequences for the damage done. Although there is a treaty in regards to international flights that have crashed and the amount that must be paid to the families of victims, the fee can be higher if the crash was caused by a crew member. In which case, Germanwings could be forced to hash out millions of euros and dollars depending on how many claims are filed, and at this point, that number seems to be mounting.

Regardless of what amount of money the German plane company gives out, it will not replace the company of loved ones or reverse the damage done. After this incident, there will no doubt be changes yet again to normal protocol in an aircraft, and regulations will be even stricter. When it comes to people’s safety, the extra precautions are important and appreciated; however, it’s terrible that such a tragedy had to occur beforehand.