Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot who authorities say deliberately crashed a Germanwings plane Tuesday, was reportedly receiving medical treatment that he hid from his employers and may have just gone through a break-up with his girlfriend, according to new developments that emerged on Friday.
The 28-year-old appears to have kept evidence of an illness from his employers, including a doctor’s note excusing him from work the day he crashed a passenger plane into a mountain, prosecutors said Friday.
Evidence came from the search of Lubitz’s homes in two German cities for an explanation of why he crashed the Airbus A320 into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.
Prosecutor’s spokesman Ralf Herrenbrueck said in a written statement that torn-up sick notes for the day of the crash “support the current preliminary assessment that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and colleagues.”
Such sick notes from doctors excusing employees from work are common in Germany and issued even for minor illnesses. Herrenbrueck didn’t reveal details of what illness Lubitz was suffering from.
Herrenbrueck said other medical documents found indicated “an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment,” but that no suicide note was found.
German newspapers also report that Lubitz had suffered a “personal crisis” just before the crash and suggested he may have recently broken up with a love interest.
According to Bild, “Lubitz had a serious relationship crisis with his girlfriend before the disaster and the resulting heartbreak is thought to have led to this.”
Lufthansa, Germanwings parent company, admitted Lubitz had taken a long break from pilot training, while German media reported he had been battling mental health issues.
French prosecutors stunned the world on Thursday by announcing their conclusion that Lubitz had deliberately crashed the Airbus A320 in the Alps Tuesday morning. In the process, investigators said, Lubitz deliberately locked the more experienced captain out of the cockpit and switched the aircraft’s autopilot to its lowest descent setting while ignoring frantic calls from air traffic controllers.
Pilot Patrick Soderheimer frantically tried – even with an axe – to get back in the cabin but could not get through the bullet-proof door.
