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Germanwings co-pilot was treated for suicidal tendencies Germanwings co-pilot was treated for suicidal tendencies
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Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz received treatment for suicidal tendencies several years ago, according to a statement released by prosecutors. Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot who is believed to have deliberately crashed Germanwings flight 4U9525 into a mountain in southern France, suffered from suicidal tendencies several years ago, a statement from investigators has said.
“The co-pilot received psychotherapy treatment, with recorded suicidal tendencies, several years ago – before receiving his pilot’s licence,” the statement from the Düsseldorf chief prosecutor, Ralf Herrenbrück, said. “The co-pilot received psychotherapy treatment, with recorded suicidal tendencies, several years ago – before receiving his pilot’s licence,” the press statement from Düsseldorf chief prosecutor Ralf Herrenbrück said on Monday.
But the prosecutor also noted the suicidal symptoms had not been recorded during subsequent treatment, which appears to have lasted until shortly before last week’s crash. “In the following time and until recently there were further doctors’ visits and sick notes, without suicidal tendencies or aggression towards others attested,” the statement said. But the prosecutor also pointed out that the symptoms had not been noted during subsequent treatment, which appears to have lasted until shortly before last Tuesday’s crash.
Lubitz, 27, is believed to have deliberately crashed Germanwings flight 4U9525 into a mountain in southern France last Tuesday, killing all 150 people on board. “In the following period and until recently there were further doctors’ visits and sick notes, without suicidal tendencies or aggression towards others attested,” the statement said.
But, underlining that no claim of responsibility had been found, Herrenbrück remained carefully reluctant to interpret the evidence. “Please understand that the state prosecutor cannot and will not speculate on the motives of the deceased co-pilot,” he said. “Investigative authorities are obliged to adhere to the facts alone.” Lubitz, 27, is believed to have intentionally crashed the plane, killing all 150 people on board.
Related: Germanwings crash: forensic teams identify 78 DNA strands from remains
Herrenbrück remained carefully reluctant to interpret the evidence, underlining that no claim of responsibility had been found during the search of Lubitz’s home. “Please understand that the state prosecutor cannot and will not speculate on the motives of the deceased co-pilot,” he said. “Investigative authorities are obliged to adhere to the facts alone.”
“No circumstances have been found in his direct personal or family circles or at his workplace that offer solid indications of a possible motive,” he added.“No circumstances have been found in his direct personal or family circles or at his workplace that offer solid indications of a possible motive,” he added.
Last week, it was revealed that Lubitz had visited Düsseldorf University hospital on 10 March, for what the hospital would only describe as a “diagnostic evaluation”. Citing patient confidentiality, a brief hospital statement said it would not reveal any further details, but insisted that media reports that he had been treated for depression there had been false. It emerged on Friday that Lubitz had visited Düsseldorf University hospital on 10 March, for what the hospital would only describe as a “diagnostic evaluation”. Citing patient confidentiality, a brief hospital statement said it would not reveal any further details, but insisted that media reports that he had been treated for depression there had been false. The New York Times reported that the treatment had been for eyesight problems.
The suicide-mass-murder theory is based on the cockpit voice recorder retrieved from the crash site near the village of Le Vernet. According to Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, the captain, Patrick Sondheimer, asked Lubitz to prepare the plane to land in Düsseldorf. Lubitz responded “laconically”. Sondheimer then left the cockpit to go to the toilet, telling his co-pilot: “You can take over.” Some German politicians have proposed that patient confidentiality rules should be relaxed for cases where lives could be at risk.
There was a sound of a seat being pushed back, and the door clicking shut. According to Bild, the plane then went into a steady descent. Minutes later there was a loud knocking and the voice of the captain saying: “For God’s sake open the door.” In the final moments the screams of passengers could be heard. Düsseldorf police has set up a task force of more than 100 officers to investigate the Germanwings crash. The team is to investigate both Lubitz’s background and help collect information to identify the 75 German victims.
It was reported earlier on Monday that Düsseldorf police had set up a task force of more than 100 officers to investigate the Germanwings crash. The team is to investigate both Lubitz’s background and help collect information to help identify the 70 German victims. Related: Depressed pilots need sympathy and help now, just as before flight 4U9525 | Letters from Emma Van Oss, Agnes Kocsis, Colin Hoskins and Gordon Stevenson
Forensic teams have identified 78 distinct DNA strands from body parts spread across the remote mountainside where flight 4U9525 crashed. While media commentators try to fathom the alleged actions of Lubitz, new details have emerged about the captain, who frantically attempted to break down the cockpit door in the moments before the plane crashed into the French Alps.
Rescuers are still, however, to locate the plane’s second black box — its flight data recorder — six days after the Barcelona-to-Düsseldorf flight crashed into a rocky ravine at 435mph (700km/h). Many of the details of his life remain unclear, as is usual in Germany, where public sensitivity and press regulations prevent the reporting of personal details of victims of crimes.
Between 400 and 600 body parts have been located and are being examined. Even the correct spelling of his name is yet to be confirmed. His name was apparently leaked to NBC news as “Patrick Sonderheimer” and to the Independent as “Sondenheimer,” while “Sondheimer” has been used by a number of newspapers. The German media, abiding by press regulations, has consistently referred to him only as “Patrick S”. Lufthansa refused to comment when asked by the Guardian.
“We haven’t found a single body intact,” said Patrick Touron, the deputy director of the police’s criminal research institute. Identification experts were using dental records, DNA samples from family members, fingerprints, jewellery and bits of ID card to help the process. Related: Don’t stigmatise depression over Alps crash, says top doctor
The black box, which is actually orange and weighs around 10kg, was originally in a protective casing, but only the empty casing has been found. German tabloid Bild am Sonntag published transcripts of the black box recordings from the flight, in which the captain could be heard shouting “open the damn door” as he tried to break down the cockpit door.
Capt Yves Naffrechoux, a mountain ranger, told Agence France-Presse: “If it has not been completely destroyed or pulverised, the black box will be under the rubble and debris. We must work with caution and a lot of precision. We have to look under every last bit of plane and lift every rock.” Unlike his co-pilot, the 34-year-old was an experienced pilot, having logged over 6,000 flight hours since he began working for Lufthansa in 2005.
An access road was being built to the site to allow all-terrain vehicles to remove some of the larger parts of the plane. “He was an open, engaged, helpful man with an enormously positive presence,” Elke Bonn, head of the kindergarten attended by his two young children, told the magazine Bunte. She also said that he had he helped out at parties and deliberately switched to shorter flights a year ago so he could spend more time with his family.
Speaking to the French news outlet Europe 1, a former colleague named only as “Dieter” described Sondheimer as “one of our best pilots”. “He was very reliable – I’m 100% convinced he did everything possible [to prevent the crash].”