Andreas Lubitz Update: Germanwings Co-pilot Hid Deadly Mental Illness from Employer
Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who investigators believed might have crashed the Germanwings jet on purpose, was hiding a medical condition, prosecutors revealed Friday in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The German prosecutors reported finding ripped up medical notes inside of Lubitz's home and stated that these documents "support the preliminary assessment that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and colleagues." The prosecutors also found one note that excused Lubitz from work on the day of the crash.
"Documents were secured containing medical information that indicates an illness and corresponding treatment by doctors," Ralf Herrenbrück, a spokesman for prosecutors in Düsseldorf, said in a statement.
The prosecutors did not reveal what Lubitz suffered from. Over the next few days, they will examine Lubtiz's medical documents and look for any other personal issues, such as financial and/or relationship problems that might explain why he crashed the plane. The prosecutors did say that they found no evidence of religious or political motive behind the crash.
German media are reporting that Lubitz dealt with depression based off of internal aviation authority documents, according to BBC News.
"The pilots had a clean bill of health, and all medical data is subject to medical confidentiality," a Germanwings representative told CNN. "We can't confirm or deny this report due to medical confidentiality."
Lubitz, 27, was co-piloting the Germanwings flight 4U 9525 that crashed into the French Alps on Tuesday. The prosecutors stated that data taken from the plane's voice recorder revealed that Lubitz had started an eight-minute descent right into the Alps when the other pilot was locked out of the cockpit. All 150 people on board, including Lubitz, died. The victims were from more than a dozen countries.
On Friday, policemen and rescue workers continued to search for remains and other clues that might provide more insight as to what happened.
