He remains the faceless hero of the Germanwings plane disaster.
Young captain Patrick Sondenheimer tried everything within his power to get back into the cockpit of flight 4U9525 as co-pilot Andreas Lubitz calmly guided the Airbus A320 towards the French Alps.
He must have been more acutely aware than anyone else of the horror that was about to unfold.
According to the latest reports, Mr Sondenheimer went to the bathroom shortly after the plane reached cruising altitude at 38,000ft and told Lubitz he was in charge as he left the flight deck.
"I hope so," was the killer's chilling reply.
After realising he was locked out, Mr Sondhenheimer made desperate attempts to barge his way in, screaming 'open the goddam door' and even calling for a crowbar hidden at the back of the plane.
But his efforts to save the passengers and crew were ultimately unsuccessful.
Since the astonishing facts of what happened onboard the Germanwings flight emerged, much of the focus has been on Andreas Lubitz and what drove him to commit mass murder.
But what about Captain Sondenheimer?
Authorities have not yet officially identified him, perhaps out of respect for his grieving relatives, and he has never been pictured.
But there have been a number of calls for Mr Sondenheimer to be honoured for his actions.
A twitter post went viral which reads: "I dont care about the a*****e who crashed it.
"Tell me about the pilot.
"The one who tried to kick in the cockpit door to save everyone
"What's his name. I want to remember his name?"
The 34-year-old has been described as an "outgoing" dad-of-two young children "who radiated happiness" and was regarded as one of Luftahansa's best pilots.
He had been flying for the airline for more than 10 years but had switched to Germanwings in 2014 so he could spend more time with his young family.
Elke Bonn, who runs a Catholic kindergarten in Dusseldorf attended by his two young children, revealed the tragic news as she paid tribute to him.
She told German newspaper Bunte he was: "an outgoing, enthusiastic and helpful man who radiated happiness."
The tribute comes after the pilot's family told how he had dreamt of becoming a pilot as a young boy - and how she cannot bear to watch news of his death in the crash on televison.
His grandmother Marianne Sondenheimer said: “He was just 34 years old, he went off to be educated so he could follow his dream."
“Now this - I cannot bring myself to watch the news any more, it is too much to bear.
“A young man is dead with so many others.
“My grandson is dead and all because of an idiot who did this to his whole flight and killed so many people.
“I just cannot understand it. How could he do this?”
Timeline: Germanwings plane crash investigation
DAY 1: TUESDAY MARCH 24 9.01am GMT (10.01am local time)
Germanwings Flight 4U9525 takes off from Barcelona, Spain, and is expected to land in Dusseldorf, Germany, 90 minutes later. It is carrying 150 people - 144 passengers and six crew
9.15am
Lubitz and his captain can be heard on the cockpit voice recorder talking 'courteously... like two normal pilots'
9.27am
The plane reaches its cruising altitude of 38,000ft as it approaches southern France
9.30am
The Airbus A320 makes its final contact with air traffic controllers - a routine message about permission to continue on the route near the settlement of Dignes (pictured)
9.30am (approx)
A chair is heard being pushed back and a door shuts. The captain, who was thought to be leaving the cockpit to use the toilet, tells Lubitz: 'You have control'
9.31am
Andreas Lubitz presses the button which sets the autopilot on a descent from 38,000ft to 100ft - the lowest possible. The button can only be pressed voluntarily
9.31am (approx)
The captain knocks on the cockpit door but there is no reply. His attempts to unlock the door are seemingly blocked
9.31am - 9.40am
The captain shouts, uses the intercom and tries to break down the door, even reportedly using an axe. Lubitz (pictured) is silent throughout but still breathing
9.35am
French air traffic controllers issue the DETRESFA distress signal after seeing the dramatic drop in altitude and failing to get a response from Lubitz. The plane is treated as a priority for a forced landing
9.39am (approx)
Passengers, who included Brit Paul Bramley, can be heard screaming 'at the last moment' as proximity alarms sound inside the plane and they realise what is happening
9.40am
Radar picks up the last trace of the plane at 6,175ft, around the same height as the top of the peaks in the French Alps
9.41am
The plane hits the mountain at 430mph and smashes into pieces no bigger than a small car. There is thought to be a first impact, with the plane skimming the terrain before hurtling into a ravine
10.30am
Reports begin circulating on Twitter that a plane has disappeared from radar in the French Alps. Real-time monitoring mean users can see its dramatic drop in altitude immediately
10.52am
Germanwings says it is aware of reports one of its planes has crashed but cannot confirm anything
11am
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls confirms the crash and President Hollande says there are 'no survivors' a few minutes later
1pm
Germanwings confirms the accident and says it has set up a hotline for victims' families with parent firm Lufthansa
1.30pm
First reports emerge of the tragic group of 16 German exchange students who were on board the doomed jet
2pm
Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann appears the first of many press conferences and insists the jet was checked by engineers just 24 hours before it flew
4pm
First pictures emerge of the crash site, showing scattered pieces of fuselage no bigger than a small car. It's confirmed there are no survivors
6.30pm
First pictures of victims emerge, including celebrated opera singer Oleg Bryjak who had performed in Paris, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo
10pm
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says it is likely there were British nationals on board
DAY 2: WEDNESDAY MARCH 25
Details emerge throughout the day of the three British victims. They were student Paul Bramley from Hull, businessman Martyn Matthews from Wolverhampton, and Julian Pracz-Bandres, a seven-month-old boy from Manchester whose Spanish-born mum Marina was also killed
11.30am
Lufthansa's CEO Thomas Winkelmann reveals Germans, Spaniards, Australians and Britons were on board with other passengers from Holland, Japan, Belgium, Argentina, Iran and the US
12.30pm
The first photos emerge of the mangled cockpit voice recorder, one of two so-called black boxes - actually coloured orange - which were on board the plane
2pm
The leaders of Germany, France and Spain tour the crash site together and pay tribute to the victims
8.30pm
Lufthansa announces it will lay on special flights to Marseilles for victims' families the following morning
DAY 3: THURSDAY MARCH 26 1am (approx)
The New York Times reveals one of the two pilots was locked out of the cockpit and ended up banging on the door, trying to get back in
9.30am
Further reports emerge from the French news agency AFP that there was a violent struggle on board the plane
11.45am
In a horrifying press conference, Marseilles prosecutor Brice Robin reveals the black box's final recording - which shows co-pilot Andreas Lubitz steered the Airbus deliberately into the mountain after locking the captain out during a toilet break
12.15pm
First picture emerges of Lubitz as it's revealed he became a first officer with Lufthansa in 2013 after years of being a flight attendant
1.30pm
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr admits Lubitz's training was 'interrupted' six years ago but insists he was '100% fit to fly'
4.30pm
Police search Lubitz's Dusseldorf home and his parents' house in the town of Montabaur, removing a 'key' piece of evidence which is revealed the next day
6pm
easyJet reveals it is changing its rules so two people must always be in the cockpit. Other airlines quickly follow suit
DAY 4: FRIDAY MARCH 27
Reports become firmly established in the German media that Lubitz had mental health problems and depression. Bild reports that he had 18 months of psychiatric help during his Lufthansa training
9am
Germanwings asks TfL, who run the London Underground, to remove advertising with the unfortunate slogan 'get ready to be surprised'
10.30am
Aviation authorities confirm Lubitz had an ongoing medical condition on his file, but will not say what the condition was
11.45am
German prosecutors reveal they have found a torn-up sick note at Lubitz's home - from the day of the crash - which says he should not have been working. They say he was hiding the illness from his employers
1pm
It's revealed victims' families could receive up to £700,000 each, or £93,000 even if Lufthansa is in no way at fault. The Airbus A320 was reportedly insured for £4.4million
3.30pm
It's revealed Lubitz had been to hospital on March 10, just two weeks before the crash