( CNN ) Patrick Sondenheimer loved his work as a pilot . But the 34-year-old captain of Germanwings Flight 9525 was also a loving father , his grandmother said . `` I am devastated , '' said his grandmother , who asked for privacy for the family . `` His death came so sudden and it leaves my whole family in shock . '' Sondenheimer is one of 150 people who died last week when the plane crashed in the French Alps on its way from Barcelona , Spain , to Dusseldorf , Germany . Authorities have accused the plane 's co-pilot of deliberately downing the jet , but are still investigating what caused the crash and trying to pinpoint what his motive may have been . Investigators have n't officially released the captain 's name , and in many German media reports he 's described simply as `` Patrick S. '' But several relatives confirmed his identity to CNN . He had logged more than 6,000 hours of flight time , had been with Germanwings since May 2014 and had worked with Lufthansa and Condor before that , the Germanwings press office said . The married father of a 3-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter switched to flying for the budget airline so he could be closer to his family , the Independent reported , citing German media . In a leaked transcript that purportedly documents the flight 's final moments , Sondenheimer -- locked out of the cockpit after a bathroom break -- pleads with the co-pilot to let him back in as the plane plunges down toward the French Alps . `` Open the damn door ! '' he says at one point in a recording from one of the plane 's so-called black boxes , according to a report published by German tabloid newspaper Bild . The recording , according to Bild , also includes the sounds of loud metallic bangs that sound like someone trying to knock down the cockpit door . `` He deserves the German Medal of Honor for his heroic attempt to break into the cockpit , '' his grandmother told CNN . As details emerge about Sondenheimer and Flight 9525 's final moments , a chorus of social media users has also hailed him as a hero . Over the weekend , Sondenheimer 's father and other family members visited a memorial for the victims in the French Alps . Francois Balique , mayor of Le Vernet , met with them there . He described the captain 's father as a broken man , with many questions about why the crash had happened . Investigators have n't said much about the captain , but they 've emphasized that it seems he did everything he could to try to get back into the cockpit after he was locked out . Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said last week that `` violent blows as if to break down the door '' are audible in the cockpit voice recording . `` He must have realized what was going on , '' Robin said . `` And if he 'd been able to open the door ... the captain would have done it . '' CNN 's Felix Gussone , David Fitzpatrick , Bharati Naik , Tim Lister , Pamela Brown , Karl Penhaul and Dorrine Mendoza contributed to this report .
Patrick Sondenheimer 's grandmother describes him as a loving father . German media report he decided to fly for Germanwings to be closer to his family . Comment: