Lubitz Falsified Records, German Doctors Claimed He Was Mentally Healthy

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) questioned the health status of Andreas Lubitz in 2010, who intentionally crashed the Germanwings plane with 150 passengers and crew in March, but doctors in Germany insisted that he had fully recovered from depression recorded in 2009, reports the Patria News Agency.

Documents requested by the US media through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal previously unknown facts about Lubitz's illness and treatment, as well as that US authorities had doubts about issuing him a pilot's license.

Lubitz was treated with at least two medications, Cipralex and mirtazapine, from January to October 2009. During this period, he interrupted his pilot training at Lufthansa, which typically lasts two years and a few months, and practiced flying smaller planes at Lufthansa's center in Arizona. 

The documents suggest that Lubitz attempted to deceive the FAA; on a form dated 2010, he marked "no" in response to the question of whether he had ever had or been treated for mental disorders. The file was later annotated with "changed no to yes". 

"I don't know why he didn't mark yes," Dr. Warren S. Silberman, who was responsible for evaluating Lubitz's application, told The New York Times.  

"He couldn't leave it blank, because the data wouldn't be transferred. I would advise him to mark 'yes'," Silberman said about the online application Lubitz submitted, adding that the "no" to "yes" was most likely changed by a Lufthansa doctor.

According to new details from Lubitz's medical records, he underwent a medical examination at Lufthansa in April 2008, and at that time, only a tonsillectomy performed in childhood was recorded. Just six months later, "reactive depression" caused by stress or traumatic events was diagnosed.

"In Lubitz's case, a change in living conditions led to a depressive episode," reads the assessment by a German doctor submitted to the FAA, which led to psychotherapy and accompanying antidepressant medication starting in January 2009. According to available data, Lubitz moved away from his parents during this period and stayed in a school dormitory in Bremen, Index reports.