The question as to why Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of Germanwings flight 9525 would intentionally bring about the crash of the plane is at the source of much of the perplexity surrounding the Germanwings tragedy. Even if we suppose that Lubitz was suicidal, it is obviously one thing to commit suicide and another to do so in such a way as to cause the death of 149 other people as well. This perplexity undoubtedly fueled the unfounded rumors that Lubitz was Muslim, since if the co-pilot was an Islamic radical conducting a suicide operation, then the mystery would be resolved.

But there is also another way of resolving the mystery: maybe Lubitz did not intentionally crash the plane. When, barely 48 hours after the crash, French prosecutor Brice Robin first floated the scenario of an intentional act, he took pains to emphasize that this was only an “interpretation” of the then known facts.