The co-pilot of a Germanwings jet that went down in the Alps appears to have crashed the plane deliberately, a French prosecutor says
He has been identified as Andreas Lubitz, a 28-year-old German citizen
Analysis of the flight recorder shows the pilot had been locked out of the cockpit and was calling on the co-pilot to let him back in
Passengers were not aware of the impending crash "until the very last moment", the prosecutor says
All 150 people on board flight 4U 9525 were killed when the Airbus A320 smashed into a mountainside
That ends our live coverage of the Germanwings plane crash for the day, after we learned that the aircraft appears to have been deliberately flown into the mountain by the co-pilot.
You can read our main story here and check back for more updates on the BBC news website later, with continued coverage on the BBC News channel.
On a day of dramatic developments, here's a reminder of everything we know so far about the Germanwings crash in the French Alps that left 150 people dead.
German investigators have been removing boxes of documents and other objects from the apartment of Andreas Lubitz in Duesseldorf.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, APSearch and recovery teams have again spent a day in incredibly difficult conditions in the French Alps. The site of the crash is inaccessible by road and can only be reached from the air, making the salvage operation all the more challenging.
Darkness has now fallen on the area but at first light, they will be back again to continue their grim task.
You can watch the video of rescuer Jean Sebastien Beaud's interview here.
The US does not believe that there is a terrorism connection in the Germanwings crash. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday that "based on what we know, there is not a nexus to terrorism."
Jean Sebastien Beaud is a member of the mountain police and was one of the first on the scene after the Germanwings plane crashed on Tuesday. He and two colleagues were winched into the ravine just 30 minutes after the plane came down.
Mr Beaud - who recovered the black box from the plane - told the BBC: "As a rescuer, I go on many accidents and see a lot of ugly things, but never anything of this scale, never.
"The scene was surreal... and I knew from the first moment there would be no survivors."
A single candle has been lit outside the home of the family of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz in Montabaur.
Image source, APMore than 100 relatives and friends of the victims have arrived in the small village of Seyne-les-Alpes, close to the site of the disaster.
But why visit the crash site? The BBC's William Kremer looks into the reasons behind their trip here.
The BBC's Clive Myrie says that Andreas Lubitz's parents were among those who travelled to Seyne-les-Alpes to mourn those killed in the crash. Following the revelations from the cockpit voice recorder "they have now been separated from the rest of the group", he added.
Sandrine Boisse, a tourism official from the ski resort of Pra Loup who believes she heard the moment of collision, told the BBC that "you feel like you're in a movie".
She added that it felt surreal to have "all the light of the world turned on your valley".
Philip Baum, editor of Aviation Security International magazine, told BBC Radio 5 live that changes could be made to reduce the likelihood of a similar incident happening in the future.
He said: "I think that far too many pilots actually do leave the flight deck during short flights. I mean obviously on long haul flights, they do need to be able to leave the flight deck.
"Although there is an argument to say that one should actually have two flight deck doors - as El Al the Israeli airline has - so that a pilot can leave the flight deck, go to the toilet, but still remain behind a secondary door."
Flags representing the nationalities of some of the victims were held up as their friends and relatives gathered for a ceremony in a field in Seyne-les-Alpes, close to the crash site.
Image source, ReutersMontabaur Mayor Edmund Schaaf has said that the town's "deepest sympathies" go out to the victims' relatives, adding: "We are saying this regardless of the circumstances that led to this event."
He confirmed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz came from Montabaur and that his family live in the town.
But he added: "Concerning the accusations that he deliberately crashed the plane, we cannot give, and do not want to give, any statement."
Norwegian Air Shuttle and Air Canada had announced similar plans earlier on Thursday.
British carrier Easyjet will now require two crew members to be in the cockpit at all times. The move comes after the UK's Civil Aviation Authority told UK airlines to review their procedures. You can read more about this on the BBC website here, external.
The two homes of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz - in Duesseldorf and Montabaur - have been searched by investigators, according to the agency AFP.
The search of the crash site in the Alps is ongoing and there are reports that bodies are now being recovered and airlifted from the area.
Image source, ReutersThe US State Department has named the third American passenger on board the Germanwings flight as Robert Oliver, Reuters has reported. The department is still investigating whether there were further US citizens involved.
One of Andreas Lubitz's neighbours in Montabaur, Wolfgang Michaelis, tells the BBC that the co-pilot's actions were incomprehensible. "It's a terrible situation because the family has lost their son and because of all those innocent people who died, and I can't understand that someone, as it appears, commits suicide... that he then kills innocent people along with himself," Mr Michaelis says. "There is nothing to understand. This is particularly terrible."