THE captain of a passenger jet that investigators believe was deliberately crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, shouted at the co-pilot to “open the damn door” as he made desperate attempts to return to the locked cockpit, according to a German newspaper yesterday.

    Meanwhile, Air New Zealand joined other global airlines in stipulating that two crew members would have to be present at all times in the cockpit to prevent similar tragedies.

    French officials say the plane’s black box voice recorder indicates that Andreas Lubitz, 27, locked the captain out of the cockpit of the Germanwings jet and deliberately flew Flight 4U 9525 into a mountainside.

    They believe that the more senior pilot tried desperately to reopen the door during the flight’s eight-minute descent after he left to use the bathroom.

    Germany’s mass-circulation Bild yesterday reported that data from the cockpit recorder showed that the captain shouted: “For God’s sake, open the door,” as passengers’ screams could be heard in the background, moments before the fatal crash.

    The pilot could then be heard trying to smash the door down with an axe, and then screaming to a silent Lubitz to “open the damn door.”

    German prosecutors believe Lubitz hid an illness from his airline but have not specified the ailment, and said he had apparently been written off sick on the day the Airbus crashed on its route from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.

    As investigators race to build up a picture of Lubitz and any possible motives, media reports emerged saying he had suffered from vision problems, adding to earlier reports he was severely depressed.

    Lubitz’s ex-girlfriend, identified only as Maria W, told Bild Lubitz had told her: “One day I’m going to do something that will change the whole system, and everyone will know my name and remember.” She said he could be “sweet” and would give her flowers but got agitated talking about work conditions, such as pay or the pressure of the job, and was plagued by nightmares. “At night he woke up and screamed ‘We’re going down!,’” she recalled.

    She split up with him because it became “increasingly clear that he had problems,” she said.

    (SD-Agencies)