Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately flew an airliner into the French Alps in March 2015, killing all on board the aircraft. He first locked the captain out of the flight deck and manipulated the altimeter to fly the plane into the ground.
The event sent shockwaves throughout the aviation world and prompted new security measures to ensure that two people remain in the cockpit at all times during flight operations.
It has now emerged that Lubitz had privately consulted with up to 41 doctors in the weeks and months leading to the incident, with one doctor in particular recommending treatment in a psychiatric facility. This never happened, and due to German confidentiality laws, such recommendation was never made known to Lubitz’s employer, Germanwings.
It is now known that Lubitz had been treated for depressive episodes at different stages during his life, but he was still able to graduate as a pilot and allowed to fly passenger jets.
Strict confidentiality regulations in German prevent doctors from revealing details about their patients’ conditions, though it is believed such regulations are now under scrutiny in the wake of Lubitz’s actions.