Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz may have deliberately crashed Flight 9525 in the French Alps because he was afraid his medical problems could prevent him from flying, according to German tabloid newspaper Bild.
“For us right now, one of the main motives is that Lubitz feared that his medical problems would endanger his fitness to fly,” Bild quoted an unnamed investigator as saying.
Earlier, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office in Dusseldorf, Germany, said Lubitz suffered from suicidal tendencies at some point before his aviation career.
Investigators have not found any writings or conversations where Lubitz shared his motives or confessed to any plans, prosecutor’s spokesman Christoph Kumpa said.
However, medical records reveal that Lubitz was suicidal at one time and underwent psychotherapy. This was before he ever got his pilot’s license, Kumpa said.
Kumpa emphasized there’s no evidence suggesting Lubitz was suicidal or acting aggressively before the crash.
It is believed that Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the plane a week ago into the French Alps, killing all 150 on board.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed what some media outlets had reported about doctors deeming Lubitz unfit to fly, though there were no physical illnesses found.
Recovery efforts continue
While investigators search for clues to Lubitz’s motivation, recovery workers continue the grim task of searching for the remains of those killed in the March 24 crash.
Lt. Col. Jean-Marc Menichini, Gendarmerie spokesman for the Provence-Alpes-Cotes d’Azur region, told CNN on Tuesday that a new path has been completed linking Le Vernet, a nearby community, to the mountainous ravine where the plane’s debris is scattered.
It will be used Tuesday morning for the first time by rescue teams to access the area, he said.
Captain Yves Naffrechoux, also of the Gendarmerie unit, said Monday that the 1 kilometer path would cut down the time it takes to reach the crash site considerably.
The trip will now take 30 minutes in total from Seyne-les-Alps, with less walking and thus less fatigue, but also with fewer risks than helicopter transfers.
Two helicopters are still working in case weather conditions improve and allow them to fly, Menichini said.
The remains of 78 people on board the plane have been identified so far using DNA analysis.
Naffrechoux said Monday that although he was optimistic the team would be able to collect and identify most of the remains, “it may not be possible to find the human remains of all the 150 passengers, as some of them may have been pulverized by the crash.”
A simple stone memorial has been set up at Le Vernet, where grieving relatives of those killed have laid flowers and held prayers.
Medical record emerging
Much attention has focused on Lubitz’s state of mind, with suggestions that he may have had mental health issues.
Lubitz, 27, passed his annual pilot recertification medical examination in summer 2014, a German aviation source told CNN. He had stated working as a commercial pilot in 2013, Lufthansa said.
An official with Lufthansa, which owns Germanwings, said that the exam only tests physical health, not psychological health.
It’s unknown if Lubitz mentioned his problems on a form that asks yes-or-no questions about physical and mental illness, suicide attempts and medications. European pilots must fill out the form to be recertified.
Federal aviation authorities, not the airline, issue the form. The form is privileged information and Lufthansa never sees a pilot’s completed form, said an airline spokesperson.
The airline would only get a “clear to fly” notice from the aviation doctors alerting the airline that a pilot has completed recertification.
‘Vision problems’
Lubitz had visited an eye doctor because of vision problems, a European government official familiar with the investigation told CNN.
The pilot complained he was not seeing as he should, but the doctor told him the cause was psychosomatic, the official said. In part because of this, the doctor deemed Lubitz unfit for flying.
Lubitz told a different doctor — a neuropsychologist — that he was too stressed with work, the European official said.
The dates of these visits are unclear, but they could have been earlier this year.
The official said he is not aware of any suicidal tendencies reported by Lubitz to the doctors, but that investigators believe he was suicidal.
Airline officials have said that if Lubitz went to a doctor on his own, he would have been required to self-report if deemed unfit to fly.
Safety investigation
France’s accident investigation agency, the BEA, said Tuesday that the ongoing safety investigation was focusing on a more detailed analysis of the flight history leading up to the crash, based on the audio recovered from the cockpit voice recorder and any other available data.
The investigation will also study “the systemic weaknesses might possibly have led to this aviation disaster or other similar events,” the BEA said.
“Within this context, the safety investigation will be oriented towards the cockpit door locking system logic and cockpit access and exit procedures, as well as the criteria and procedures applied to detect specific psychological profiles.”