Germanwings co-pilot suffered a serious episode of depression.
Based on sources and internal Lufthansa documents, the German newspaper Bild reported that Andreas Lubitz spent a total of a year and a half in psychiatric treatment, and that relevant documents will be sent to French investigators after being examined by German authorities.
(Reuters) The co-pilot who apparently deliberately caused a plane crash in the French Alps with 149 other people on board received psychiatric treatment for a "serious depressive episode" six years ago, the German newspaper Bild reported on Friday.
French prosecutors, after listening to the voice recording from the black box, found no reason why 27-year-old Andreas Lubitz took control of the Airbus A320, locked the captain out of the cockpit and caused the aircraft to descend on Tuesday.
Based on sources and internal Lufthansa documents, Bild reported that Lubitz spent a total of a year and a half in psychiatric treatment, and that relevant documents will be sent to French investigators after being examined by German authorities.
The chief executive of Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, Carsten Spohr, said on Thursday that Lubitz had taken a break during his training six years ago, but did not explain why and said that he had passed all the tests to fly.
A Lufthansa spokeswoman said on Friday that the company will not comment on the pilot's health status.
(Reporting by Victoria Bryan)