Germanwings pilot rehearsed descent on previous flight - BEA

Andreas Lubitz runs the Airportrace half marathon in Hamburg in this September 13, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Foto-Team-Mueller/Files

PARIS (Reuters) - The Germanwings co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a jet in the Alps in March practised entering the fatal descent settings on the outbound flight and ignored repeated attempts to contact him from both ground and air, investigators said on Wednesday. A preliminary report on the crash showed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had set the altitude dial on the Airbus A320's autopilot to 100 feet five times while alone in the cockpit on the previous flight from Duesseldorf to Barcelona on March 24. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by James Regan)