Sunday Times 2
I’m planning a heinous act that will be remembered forever’
Killer pilot Andreas Lubitz told his ex-girlfriend he was planning an act so heinous his name would be remembered for ever, it was sensationally claimed last night.
Killer in the cockpit: Andreas Lubitz - pictured competing in a half-marathon in 2013 - was reportedly in the middle of a 'relationship crisis' when he crashed the Germanwings airliner into the Alps, killing himself and 149 others(Reuters)
Lubitz was a tormented, erratic man who was a master of hiding his darkest thoughts and would wake up from nightmares screaming ‘we’re going down’, his former partner said.
She revealed to a German newspaper how Lubitz ominously told her last year: ‘One day I will do something that will change the whole system, and then all will know my name and remember it.’
When she heard about the crash of Germanwings Flight 4U9525 on Tuesday, she remembered Lubitz’s menacing prophecy. ‘I never knew what he meant, but now it makes sense,’ she told Bild.
His personal problems and erratic behaviour was so severe that she was frightened and decided to leave him.
She added: ‘When I heard about the crash, there was just a tape playing in my head of what he said, “One day I will do something that will change the system and everyone will then know my name and remember me”.
‘I did not know what he meant by that at the time, but now it’s clear.’
Police will want to interview the unnamed former girlfriend in detail about the pilot’s state of mind. The couple had been together for seven years and lived in a smart flat on the outskirts of Dusseldorf. One report claimed they were engaged and planned to marry next year.
Lubitz had reportedly ordered two new Audis for them just before the tragedy in an apparent desperate last attempt to win her back. But she appeared to have rejected his offer, as only one car was ever delivered.
The startling revelations that Lubitz had long-plotted a spectacular act adds weight to claims the pilot concealed a medical condition that should have stopped him flying.
It comes after German investigators yesterday revealed the 27-year-old should have been off sick on the day he deliberately condemned his 149 passengers and crewmates to their deaths in the Alps.
Investigators revealed today that medical sign-off notes were found at Lubitz’s home – including at least one that covered the day of the crash – and Dusseldorf University Hospital confirmed he had been a patient there over the past two months, although it would not disclose his condition.
It also emerged that Lubitz was familiar with the area of the French Alps where he brought down the Airbus A320, having previously completed a gliding course there.
Unusually, he had worked as a flight attendant for nearly a year before becoming a pilot, which led to teasing from his colleagues. Some airline crew even nicknamed him ‘Tomato Andi’ – apparently a reference to the juice popular with passengers.
As investigators continue to scour his complicated background, it also emerged that the fitness fanatic was receiving treatment for his mental health issues and apparently feared his flying licence would be taken away if his airline learned the extent of his psychological breakdown.
At least one of the medical certificates found by investigators covered Tuesday, the day Lubitz locked his captain out of the cockpit and calmly crashed the aircraft. Reports in Germany last night claimed that two doctors had signed him off sick on the day of the disaster.
More sick notes are said to have covered other days when he flew despite being told not to. But police said they found no suicide note in a five-hour search.
Speaking to MailOnline tonight, a Germanwings spokesman stressed the company was unaware of any medical notes and said it had been Lubitz’s responsibility to tell his employers he was unfit to fly.
Described as a man whose life-long obsession had been to become a pilot, it has been suggested he may have feared his flying licence might not be renewed on medical grounds. One friend said he ‘would have died’ if he had not passed his flying exams.
The disclosures will raise more questions for Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, as to how he was allowed to fly a passenger jet when he was known to suffer from depression – and to have suffered burnout and mental illness.
Unusually, Lubitz’s file with the German Civil Aviation Authority had been ‘flagged’ with the warning that he needed regular psychological assessment before being allowed to continue to fly.
Lawyers believe the families of victims could win up to £100million in a joint action against Lufthansa and Germanwings, which had claimed Lubitz was ’100 per cent fit to fly’ but then admitted he slipped through their safety net.
Belgian Christian Driessens, whose brother Claude died in the crash, said: ‘I don’t understand how a serious company can let a depressed man pilot a plane.’ Police have ruled out any religious or political motive for the crash.
Ralf Herrenbrueck, of the German prosecutors office, said yesterday that torn-up sick notes ‘support the current preliminary assessment that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and colleagues’.
He said seized documents indicated ‘an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment’.
Police are investigating whether Lubitz had stopped taking any medication he was on. As well as having been signed off from training with depression in 2008 and suffering a ‘depressive episode’ in 2009, it was reported that Lubitz had continued to receive mental health support right up until this week’s crash.
He had been described as ‘unflyable’ while at flying school and had been downgraded on several occasions due to depression. He had received psychiatric treatment for an 18-month period, according to reports.
Lubitz seemed overwhelmed by stress after he started his pilot training course with Lufthansa, said the boss of fast food restaurant where he had previously worked.
Airline bosses stressed last night that Lubitz had not presented the company with a sick note for last Tuesday – and it had not known he had been signed off.
The flyer, a keen half-marathon runner, grew up in the small town of Montabaur where his businessman father and piano teacher mother owned an imposing detached property, worth some £330,000.
A friend said: ‘For him there was ever only one goal – to fly. It was a dream he had had since primary school. His room was plastered with pictures of planes and the Lufthansa logo could be seen everywhere. Pictures of old planes, new planes, of the largest planes – everywhere you could see aviation stuff.’
© Daily Mail, London
| AIRLINES INTRODUCE BANS ON PILOTS BEING LEFT ALONE IN COCKPIT – DESPITE FEARS OF INCREASED TERROR RISK A string of airlines last night introduced emergency rules to prevent pilots ever being left alone in the cockpit. In an attempt to prevent a repetition of the Germanwings disaster, a senior crew member will stay on the flight deck if one of the pilots is not there.  Critics say knee-jerk measures such as the reinforced cockpit doors brought in after 9/11 contributed to the tragedy (Reuters) The Civil Aviation Authority urged airlines to review their rules to avoid the pilot or co-pilot being alone at the controls. Flybe, easyJet, Emirates, Thomas Cook, Norwegian Air and Virgin Atlantic all said they would make this company policy. Philip Baum, editor of Aviation Security International, said the tragedy was partly due to ‘knee-jerk’ controls introduced after 9/11. He told the Independent: ‘The ill-thought reinforced cockpit door has had catastrophic consequences.’ Mr Baum said thinking about airline safety had been skewed by the 2001 terror attacks, adding that there had been ‘excessive attention given to terrorism’ and a ‘failure to address other threats to aviation security’. The CAA ‘advises’ another staff member should stand in if one of the pilots has to leave to get a drink or go to the toilet. But until now, one person was deemed sufficient and having a second person at all times was ‘voluntary’. However, the latest tragedy will heap pressure on airlines that do not follow the advice. A CAA statement said: ‘Following the details that have emerged regarding the tragic Germanwings incident, we are co-ordinating closely with colleagues at the European Aviation Safety Agency and have contacted all UK operators to require them to review all relevant procedures.’ The authority added that it had made the change ‘in the light of the latest developments in France’ that revealed the pilot of flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit. While the CAA said the switch will remain voluntary, an industry insider said: ‘There is some industry chatter about the policy becoming mandatory.’ Budget carrier easyJet was one of the first to announce the change. A spokesman said: ‘easyJet can confirm that, with effect from March 27, it will change its procedure which will mean that two crew members will be in the cockpit at all times.’ A crew member will temporarily enter the cockpit if the pilot or co-pilot needs the toilet.Virgin Atlantic said having two people on the flight deck at all times was ‘common practice’ but it is now ‘formalising’ this. But while most airlines have rushed to comply with the CAA advice, pilots’ union Balpa accused the authority of ‘jumping to a solution’ that could ‘create different risks’. Flying with two people constantly in the cockpit is standard practice in the US. Long-haul flights usually have more than two crew on board who are capable of flying the plane. But a senior examiner from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has accused EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic of being ‘irresponsible’ and ‘playing to the gallery’ in response to the Germanwings disaster.
AIRLINE THAT ALLOWED KILLER PILOT TO FLY NOW FACES TENS OF MILLIONS IN LEGAL PAYOUTS The airline that allowed Andreas Lubitz to fly could face compensation claims of tens of millions of pounds, it emerged last night. Lufthansa – which owns the budget carrier Germanwings – is offering immediate aid of up to 50,000 euros (£36,500) per passenger to relatives, it was revealed yesterday. But families of the 149 victims may launch a ‘class action’ for compensation which could see the airline involved in lawsuits for years. Airline spokesman Thomas Jachnow confirmed a report on Lufthansa’s offer by German daily Tagesspiegel. The airline had not previously detailed the level of the payments to relatives, which are separate from eventual compensation claims. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr had said earlier that the airline would ‘honour international arrangements regulating liability’, and noted that the company already has offered immediate financial aid to anyone requiring help. |