Depressed co-pilot: Killed 149 people because his fiancée left him

Andreas Lubitz regularly attended psychiatric sessions. Six years ago he had a "serious episode of depression", writes Bild, reports the Patria news agency. 

German media state that the 28-year-old, who on Tuesday deliberately crashed an Airbus A320 into the French Alps and killed 149 passengers and crew members, had been left by his fiancée just before the horrific massacre. He had been in a long-term relationship with her, and they were planning a wedding next year.

"He had a serious crisis in the relationship and was in an emotional crisis. It is possible that this tragedy is the result of his breakup," writes Bild.

Quoting internal documents and sources within Lufthansa, the newspaper reveals that the co-pilot then spent 18 months in psychiatric treatment. Since then, he was under "special and regular medical" supervision.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr admitted on Thursday that Lubitz took a break from flight training in 2008. However, Lubitz later passed all aptitude tests.

"After he passed the check again, he continued with training. He passed all tests with excellent results. His flying skills were flawless. Lufthansa has a special reporting system in which crew members can report problems or point out colleagues' issues without fear of punishment. All the safety nets we had, or at least thought we had, in this case obviously did not work," said Spohr.

A neighbor of Lubitz's parents in Montabaur told German RTL that the co-pilot was completely normal. "He was happy because he loved his job. He didn't have any problems. I simply cannot believe he did something so horrible," she said.

Acquaintances say the co-pilot was not a loner but, on the contrary, had many friends and was popular in social circles due to his cheerful nature. He often went bowling and was a fanatical runner. He never made mistakes at work.

The most abnormal thing about Lubitz was how normal he seemed, writes The Independent.