Authorities have determined that Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of the Germanwings jet liner, was the one who crashed the plane into the French Alps on Tuesday. Apparently, he was deemed “unfit to work” by his doctor.
He had a mental illness.
According to The New York Times, Lubitz was already diagnosed with a certain mental disorder but opted to keep his illness a secret from his employer, Germanwings, and its parent company, Lufthansa. Although Lufthansa has mandated a policy that all employees should notify the company of any medical conditions, especially ones that can affect a pilot’s flying skills, Lubitz managed to keep his secret under lock-and-key.
His depression was left untreated.
It may have already been found out that he had a mental disorder, but authorities are having a difficult time ascertaining the nature of the illness, as well as its severity. According to the German hospital, they had only seen Lubitz two times in the past couple of months that they were not able to fully evaluate the severity the condition and the status of his mental health. Lubitz was also not able to attend a treatment for his depression.
He locked the captain out of the cockpit.
According to the investigation, Lubitz had locked out the captain of the Germanwings Flight 9525 and took the plane down. He reportedly activated a control switch from the cockpit that allowed the plane to descend quickly towards the French Alps.
The only sounds that could be heard, according to a separate CNN report were rampant pounding on the cockpit door, Lubitz’s heavy breathing, and, later on, the loud screams of the passengers.
He was a polite and fun person.
Time has reported that Lubitz’s friends have described the co-pilot as “rather quiet,” “polite,” and “fun.” According to the report, he was also into pop music and liked to jog to keep his body fit.
He was not a terrorist.
Thomas de Maiziere, the Interior Minister of Germany, said that there was no evidence to prove that Lubitz was a terrorist. They had already raided his property in Montabaur, Germany, and there were no indications that he was connected to any terrorist group.
“According to the current state of knowledge and after comparing information that we have,” de Maiziere told Straits Times. “He does not have a terrorist background.”
He passed the tests required for pilot training.
Lubitz had completed all the criteria that were required for a pilot to fly a commercial aircraft. According to the report, he appeared to be both physically and mentally fit. When he was examined last January, nothing unusual was found, according to The Associated Press, as reported by Time.
“The pilot has passed all his tests, all his medical exams,” Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said.
He was a life-long aviation enthusiast.
He has always loved flying, which was why he pursued a career as a pilot in the first place. He had first enrolled in the pilot program of Lufthansa in 2008 and trained in Arizona and Germany. He was only 27 years old when he officially became a pilot for Germanwings, and had already logged 630 flight hours on the A320 before the crash that he initiated earlier this week.
French and Spanish rescue teams are still scouring the area of the crash, in the hopes of finding more remains and DNA that will help in identifying the incident’s 150 victims.
