Avoiding the Germanwings tragedy but losing two friends: "It was an act of savage cruelty."
An Iranian journalist recalls what happened 10 years ago, when a pilot deliberately crashed his plane into the Alps.
Barcelona"As much as possible, I will always avoid mentioning this company's name. Every time it comes up, I feel as if an old wound has reopened inside my heart. This name will bring me eternal pain," says sports journalist Payam Younessipour (Tehran, 1982). This forbidden name is that of Germanwigs, the airline that operated Flight 9525 between Barcelona and Düsseldorf ten years ago, which ended in tragedy. Pilot Andreas Lubitz, suffering from depression and on medical leave that he failed to inform the airline, deliberately crashed the plane into the French Alps with 150 people on board.
A few days earlier, on the morning of March 21, 2015, Younessipour landed at Vienna Airport accompanied by three colleagues: Milad Hojjatoleslami, Hossein Javadi, and Saeed Zahedian. The four had been following in the footsteps of the Iranian national football team and had maintained a close friendship for over a decade, the result of years of working closely together. In 2014, Hojjatoleslami, Javadi, and Younessipour had experienced the World Cup in Brazil firsthand, including a defeat to Argentina thanks to a 91st-minute goal from Leo Messi.
That trip to Austria was the first time the four had made a European tour together. They covered the travel expenses. But the day after they landed in Vienna, a derby between Barça and Real Madrid was being played at the Camp Nou. Hojjatoleslami and Javadi traveled to Catalonia to enjoy and cover the match, although they ultimately couldn't get into the stadium because they couldn't get accreditation or tickets. Neither from Iran nor outside the Camp Nou. The initial plan was to fly all four together to Barcelona, but in the end, only Hojjatoleslami and Javadi went.
Younessipour decided to stay in Austria because he thought it would be impossible to find tickets on the day of the match. Furthermore, he couldn't find a flight from Barcelona that would allow him to return to the Austrian capital in time to cover the Iran national team's friendly against Chile on Thursday, March 26. So, he lived and suffered the Clásico from his hotel. Luis Enrique's Barça won 2-1 with goals from Jérémy Mathieu, assisted by Messi and Luis Suárez. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the goal for Real Madrid. "I've been a loyal Real Madrid fan since I was ten years old, but I respect Barça," he says.
That decision saved his life. On March 24, Hojjatoleslami, a sports correspondent for the Tasnim news agency, and Javadi, a journalist for the newspaper Vatan-e-Emroozboarded a Germanwings flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, intending to return to Vienna. The plane crashed between Seyne in the Alps and Le Vernet, in Haute-Provence, France, killing 150 people: 70 German victims, 50 Spanish victims, and two Iranians, among others. It was soon confirmed that the Iranians were the sports journalists. A mutual friend called Zahedian and Younessipour to inform them of the sad news.
"Anger, rage, despair"
It soon became clear that it hadn't been an accident, but that Lubitz had taken advantage of a platoon exit from the cockpit to close in and deliberately crash the plane. "When the media started explaining what had happened, we realized how crazy the pilot had been," says Younessipour, who says he believes the term suicide It's not correct. "The term suicide can only be used when a person kills themselves. Wouldn't 9/11 ever be considered suicide? Why is one considered terrorism and the other considered suicide? They are two very similar accidents that resulted in the murder of many innocent people. They are two acts of savage cruelty."
On Thursday, March 26, the Iranian national team beat Chile 2-0 in the Austrian city of Sankt Pölten. Just before the match, a moving minute of silence was held in memory of Hojjatoleslami and Javadi. Younessipour was supposed to cover the match, but was unable to go to the stadium due to "critical emotional conditions."
The journalist speaks to ARA with melancholy and sorrow. "In these ten years, I have never, ever looked back on what happened as if I had been reborn. I lost two very dear friends. I have seen death up close several times. I fell off a mountain, I survived a serious car accident. I have experienced the sensation of being reborn. But that day, I lost two friends who were among the best, and even more among the best, and they were among the best." When he relives March 24, 2015, exactly ten years ago, he says three feelings come to mind: "Anger, rage, despair."
Under overcast skies, family members and friends of the Germanwings victims returned to El Prat Airport to lay a wreath at the monument and observe a minute of silence before the commemorative plaque. This time, the anniversary is special: Monday will mark a decade since the tragedy. "Remembering you brings us relief, but it also brings tears to our eyes," said Lourdes Bonet, president of the victims' association.
In Spain, thanks to the association, since 2022, pilots' sick leaves have been communicated directly via the doctor and the company; a bittersweet victory because it doesn't apply throughout the EU. Bonet also celebrated Lufthansa's creation of an aid fund and the provision of scholarships for orphans . Some of them are now traveling to France for the anniversary of the Le Vernet events, which will be followed by another memorial ceremony on April 6 at the Montserrat Abbey.
The event was attended by the President of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), Salvador Illa; Artur Mas, who was President at the time of the accident; the Speaker of the Parliament (Parlament), Josep Rull; the Spanish government's delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto; and representatives from Lufthansa. Illa thanked the association for its work and its efforts to "help draw lessons" and, above all, to prevent a recurrence.
