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Report: Pilot locked out

THE New York Times is reporting that the voice recorder indicates that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit before a Germanwings jetliner crashed into a remote Alpine mountainside.

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THE New York Times is reporting that the voice recorder indicates that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit before a Germanwings jetliner crashed into a remote Alpine mountainside.

The Times is citing an investigator it doesn't identify as saying that the audio shows that after an ordinary start to the flight, one of the pilots left the cockpit and could not get back in.

The investigator told the Times that the pilot began to knock quietly on the door, then became more insistent, saying that eventually, "You can hear he is trying to smash the door down." The investigator does not speculate as to why the other pilot didn't open the door or make contact with ground control before the plane crashed.

Kin heading to site A bus with 14 relatives of the Spanish victims who died in the French Alps plane crash left Barcelona for an overnight journey that will take them to the crash area by today. Those going on the bus apparently did not want to take this morning's flight from Barcelona to Marseille that is expected to shuttle many more relatives toward the site. Spain's government has said at least 51 Spaniards were among the 150 victims of the crash. Germanwings has said 35 of the 125 passengers identified were Spaniards.

Third American ID'd The U.S. State Department says a third American has been identified as a victim of the crash. The department said it is in contact with the victim's family but is not yet releasing the name.

No explanation The director of France's aviation investigative agency says that so far there is not the "slightest explanation" for what caused the Germanwings plane to lose altitude and crash. Remi Jouty says the investigation could take weeks or even months. Jouty says the plane was flying "until the end" - slamming into the mountain, not breaking up in the air. - Associated Press

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