One of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit just before the Germanwings crash in the French Alps, The New York Times reported Wednesday. 

A senior military official investigating the crash told the Times the two pilots had a “very smooth, very cool” conversation early in the flight form Barcelona to Düsseldorf.

Audio indicates that after a routine start to the flight, one of the pilots left the cockpit and could not re-enter, according to the report.

“The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door and there is no answer,” the investigator told the Times. “And then he hits the door stronger and no answer. There is never an answer.

The investigator told the Times, “You can hear he is trying to smash the door down.”

The investigator said it was not yet clear why one of the pilots left the cockpit and why the other pilot failed to open the door.

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