Germanwings co-pilot ‘tore up doctor’s note for day of crash’ – German prosecutor

A German prosecutor has claimed that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz received a note from a doctor excusing him from work but apparently tore it up.

Lubitz is being suspected of having intentionally crashed the Airbus A320, killing himself, 144 passengers and five crew members.

The prosecutor said evidence collected in a search of Andreas Lubitz’ Düsseldorf apartment on Thursday afternoon did not include a suicide note and gave no indication of a political or religious motive for his apparent decision to crash the plane.

“However documents were confiscated that contained medical information indicating an existing medical treatment,” the Düsseldorf prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor’s office did not say if the medical leave note related to a physical or a mental health issue. However, investigators have found no goodbye letter or any evidence of political or religious motivation.

Documents found in the apartment showed that Lubitz received a note from his doctor for the day of the incident excusing him from work, but that he tore up the note and did not inform Lufthansa about his condition, according to the prosecutor’s statement.

“Doctor’s notes that were found that were current and for the day of the incident support the assumption, based on a preliminary evaluation, that the deceased concealed his illness from his employer and work environment,” the prosecutor said in the statement.

Earlier, Germany’s Federal Aviation Office said that Lubitz had a medical condition noted in his pilot’s medical certificate, but the spokesman couldn’t say whether the record was related to his mental or physical health because the information was confidential.

Lubitz’s record was last set in July 2014. The medical certificate gets updated annually, according to spokesman Holger Kasperski.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr told CNN that the co-pilot didn’t want the captain to return to the cockpit.

“The captain tried to regain access and the door was either kept locked or not opened … the co-pilot didn’t want the captain to return,” Spohr said.

He defended the airline’s safety nets in testing an employer’s mental stability but said they would be reviewing them.

Lubitz’s mental stability was put into question after investigations pointed towards a “deliberate” crash questioning whether it was suicide or mass murder.

“[Lubitz] had passed all his tests and medical exams … We have a reporting system by which the crew can report without punished. All of the safety nets we are so proud of have not worked in this case,” Spohr told CNN.