Andreas Lubitz: Was Germanwings plane crash co-pilot heartbroken after 'relationship crisis'?

German newspaper Bild claimed the 28-year-old, who crashed Flight 4U9525 into the Alps, had a difficult period in his relationship with a girlfriend

Personal life: Investigators are trying to find what prompted Andreas Lubitz's behaviour

Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz could have had a 'relationship crisis' before flying Flight 4U9525 into the Alps, it has been claimed.

Bild quoted investigation sources who said the 28-year-old had a 'difficult relationship' with a girlfriend and was said to be 'ravaged by the resulting heartache'.

The local newspaper in the Westerwald region where he got his first taste of flying said Lubitz had been with his girlfriend for seven years and they were living in a flat in Dusseldorf.

The theory is the latest in a string of claims about the pilot's mental state when he calmly set the Airbus A320 on autopilot and brought it down in the French Alps, killing 150 people.

He locked his captain out of the cockpit during a toilet break and said nothing for eight minutes while the captain tried to break down the door and passengers screamed at the last moment.

Bild also claimed he had 18 months of psychiatric help for a 'serious depressive episode' and was classed as unsuitable for flying while he was training with Lufthansa six years ago.



A file at Germany’s Federal Aviation Agency allegedly noted that he was subject to special regular medical examination.

The reports have not been confirmed by the airline.

However, they shed new light on the insistence by Lufthansa's CEO yesterday that Lubitz, who became a first officer in 2013 after years as a flight attendant, was "100% fit to fly".

Carsten Spohr admitted Lubitz's training had been "interrupted" after it began in 2008 but did not explain why and said he had passed all tests later on.

"Six years ago there was a lengthy interruption in his training," Mr Spohr said.

"After he was cleared again, he resumed training. He passed all the subsequent tests and checks with flying colours.

"His flying abilities were flawless."


According to the report in Bild, Lubitz's mum was a church organist and his dad was a banker.

He is said to have had his first taste of flying aged 14 at the LSC Westerwald club - where members were apparently unaware of his role when they posted a tribute to him yesterday.

He was a keen athlete and ran the 2011 Lufthansa half-marathon, where he appeared to have used the nickname flying_andy - finishing in a time of one hour and 49 minutes.

Lubitz's Facebook page - which has since been 'memorialised' - shows nothing immediately out of the ordinary.

It lists his interests including German electronica band Schiller, French superstar DJ David Guetta, his local Burger King, 10-pin bowling, aviation humour and a technical website about the A320 model of aircraft he flew into a mountainside.


REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

A Lufthansa spokesman said today the airline would not comment on the health of the pilot.

Police examining Lubitz's Dusseldorf home and the home of his parents in Montabaur, Germany, reportedly said they made a "significant discovery" last night.

While the officers confirmed that the discovery was not a suicide note, they would not reveal any further details as this next stage of their investigation deepens.

A Germanwings spokesman said last night: "A few hours ago we thought Tuesday was the darkest day in the history of our company. But today has been no less devastating."

"It appears that the co-pilot, who had stayed in the cockpit, prevented the captain from re-entering by fully locking the cockpit door in order to then initiate the fatal descent."

In black box sound recordings, Andreas Lubitz can be heard breathing "normally" as the plane descended around 30,000ft in just eight minutes before crashing into the French Alps.

Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin told how the flight voice recorder reveals Lubitz and the captain talking in a "normal fashion" for the first 20 minutes after the plane left Barcelona for Dusseldorf.

A320 Crash graphic