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Here’s How a Germanwings Pilot Reassured Scared Passengers the Day After the Crash

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The morning after Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed into the French Alps—before any real details were known about the state of the plane or co-pilot Andreas Lubitz’ mental state—Britta Englisch hesitantly stepped onto a Germanwings flight from Hamburg to Cologne.

As soon as she walked onto the plane, she and the other passengers were personally welcomed by the pilot, who assured them that he’d get them to their destination safely. Englisch praised the dedicated pilot and crew on Germanwings’ Facebook page Wednesday night, and her heartfelt post has since gone viral—accumulating some 300,000 likes in less than two days.

“This flight was the morning after the crash—at this time no details were known and everything was mere speculation,” Englisch, who lives in Hamburg, tells TIME via email. “Logically it was pretty clear to me, that Germanwings might have been the safest airline at that morning—they doublechecked every plane and pilots and crew were free to choose if they were feeling able to fly or not. Nevertheless I had this feeling in my stomach. Feelings are not logical, are they?”

But her worry subsided after the pilot personally welcomed people as they boarded the plane. “If someone made an uneasy impression, he talked to them,” says Englisch, a PR manager at Stage Entertainment.

After boarding was complete, rather than going into the cockpit, the pilot took a microphone and began to address his passengers.

“He introduced himself and his crew, talked about how he felt—that some of the crew knew someone on the plane, that he also had a slight uneasy feeling not knowing what happened,” Englisch recollects. “[The pilot continued that] he and the crew are there voluntarily, that the company didn’t force anyone to be on duty that day, that he double-checked the plane this morning. [He said that] he has family, kids and a wife who he loves, that the crew has loved ones and [that] he’ll do everything to return safely to them every evening.”

Witness Scenes From the Plane Crash in the French Alps

Flowers are left in front of the monument in homage to the victims of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 in Le Vernet, southeastern France, March 27, 2015.
Flowers are left in front of the monument in homage to the victims of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 in Le Vernet, southeastern France, March 27, 2015. Alberto Estevez—EPA
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pay respect to victims in front of the mountain where a Germanwings jetliner crashed in Le Vernet, France, March 25, 2015.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pay respect to victims in front of the mountain where a Germanwings jetliner crashed in Le Vernet, France, March 25, 2015. Christophe Ena—AP
A search and rescue worker at the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps, above the town of Seyne-les-Alpes, southeastern France, March 25, 2015.
A search and rescue worker at the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps, above the town of Seyne-les-Alpes, southeastern France, March 25, 2015.Guillaume Horcajuelo—EPA
Helicopters of the French gendarmerie and emergency services fly over Seyne-les-Alpes as they resume works to recover the bodies and the remains of the Airbus A320 that crashed the previous day in the Alps, March 25, 2015.
Helicopters of the French gendarmerie and emergency services fly over Seyne-les-Alpes as they resume works to recover the bodies and the remains of the Airbus A320 that crashed the previous day in the Alps, March 25, 2015.Alberto Estevez—EPA
French military personnel walk up the mountainside near Seyne, France on March 25, 2015.
French military personnel walk up the mountainside near Seyne, France on March 25, 2015.Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images
German Airbus A320 Crashes In Southern French Alps
Gendarmerie and French mountain rescue teams arrive near the site of the Germanwings plane crash near the French Alps on March 24, 2015Patrick Aventurier—Getty Images
FRANCE-GERMANY-SPAIN-AVIATION-ACCIDENT
French emergency services workers and members of the French gendarmerie gather in Seyne, south-eastern France, on March 24, 2015, near the site where a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in the French Alps.Boris Horvat—AFP/Getty Images
An aerial photo shows what appears to be wreckage from the crash of a Germanwings plane in the French Alps, between Barcelona and Digne, March 24, 2015.
An aerial photo shows what appears to be wreckage from the crash of a Germanwings plane in the French Alps, between Barcelona and Digne, March 24, 2015.Duclet Stephane—ZUMAPRESS.com
Relatives of passengers of the Germanwings plane crashed in French Alps are seen at the Terminal 2 of the Barcelona El Prat airport on March 24, 2015 in Barcelona.
Relatives of passengers of the Germanwings plane crashed in French Alps are seen at the Terminal 2 of the Barcelona El Prat airport on March 24, 2015 in Barcelona. David Ramos—Getty Images
A worker from a Swissport, a Service Company who is handling for Germanwings airlines, works inside an office in the Barcelona airport, March 24, 2015.
A worker from a Swissport, a Service Company who is handling for Germanwings airlines, works inside an office in the Barcelona airport, March 24, 2015. Emilio Morenatti—AP
People stand in front of candles and flowers placed in front of the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium in Haltern, Germany, March 24, 2015.
People stand in front of candles and flowers placed in front of the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium in Haltern, Germany, March 24, 2015. Imago/Zumapress

For a moment everyone was silent.

“No one was checking his phone for the last time or reading the papers,” Englisch says, noting that that is unusual for a commuter flight full of businesspeople. “And then everyone applauded.”

Englisch didn’t intend for her post, supporting the grieving airline, to gain so much attention.

“It was just one post amongst thousand others and it was meant to say thank you to the pilot for not hiding in the cockpit but letting us be part of his feelings.”

Here is her post:

Read next: Here’s What We Know About the Germanwings Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz

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