Lubitz was ‘obsessed’ by the Alps

A German prosecutor on Friday said 27-year-old Andreas Lubitz had been issued a doctors note, excusing him from work the day of the Airbus A320 crash. Mark Kelly reports.

Those who knew Andreas Lubitz said he was "obsessed" by the Alps and knew the area of the crash well.

He was a gliding enthusiast and took part in at least one class organised by his local flying club in the French Alps' province where he brought down the flight reported the International Business Times. according to an article in the Le Parisien newspaper.

A club member told the newspaper that during the class the 28-year-old flew over the mountains he later chose to die on.

"He was passionate about the Alps and even obsessed. I'm sure he knew the crash area because he had glided over it," said Dieter Wagner.

Medical fitness ... Andreas Lubitz reportedly feared he was about to lose his flying license. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

As these latest details emerge the former girlfriend of Lubitz has broken her silence about the tormented man who killed 149 people and himself in the Germanwings plane crash on Tuesday.

The woman, who remains anonymous, told the German newspaper Bild that Lubitz would wake from nightmares screaming "We're going down".

She said Lubitz made an ominous reference a year ago to the heinous act he carried out this week.

"When I heard about the crash, there was just a tape playing in my head of what he said, 'One day I will do something that will change the system and everyone will then know my name and remember me'," she said.

"I did not know what he meant by that at the time, but now it's clear."

The woman said she left Lubitz because of his erratic behaviour, and the break-up reportedly devastated the already disturbed pilot. It's understood he had bought matching Audis and planned to give one to her.

Seized ... investigators found torn-up sick notes at Andreas Lubitz's apartment in Dusseldorf. Picture: AFP/Patrik Stollarz Source: AFP

The ex-girlfriend's revelations affirm reports from others who knew Lubitz as a troubled man who had endured long bouts of depression and burnout.

He had a sick note excusing him from work on the day he is suspected of having intentionally crashed Germanwings Airbus A320, killing everyone on board.

It has also been revealed he had been in hospital just a fortnight earlier and may have been on medication for his illness — believed to have been psychological — but hid the fact from his employers so he could keep alive his boyhood dream of flying.

Lubitz reportedly feared he was about to lose his flying license on the grounds of his medical condition, as at least two doctors deemed him unfit.

Remembrance ... a hastily-erected granite memorial in the village of Le Vernet, for the victims of the Germanwings plane crash. Picture: Ella Pellegrini Source: Supplied

The revelations came as it was revealed the pilot of the ill-fated flight even tried using an axe to hack through the armoured door as the plane was sent into its fatal descent by Lubitz according to Bild

Lubitz locked himself into the cockpit when the captain went out to use the toilet, then refused his colleague's increasingly desperate entreaties to reopen the door, French prosecutor Brice Robin said.

As details about Lubitz continue to emerge a steady stream of family of the 149 victims under police escort continued yesterday to visit a hastily-erected granite memorial in the village of Le Vernet, overlooking the mountain behind which their loved ones remains were being recovered.

French authorities today confirmed between 400 and 600 body parts from the crash site in a deep rocky ravine had been recovered and were subject to DNA testing to positively identify them.

German investigators were today continuing to uncover vital new clues to help reveal what prompted the 27-year-old Lubitz to want to take his own life and of his five colleagues and 144 passengers.

Criminology ... forensic experts work near a mobile investigation unit in Seyne-les-Alpes, France. Picture: Claude Paris Source: AP

It was revealed on Friday he had been a patient at Dusseldorf University Hospital where he checked himself in for "diagnostic evaluation" on March 10 for an unknown illness.

The German prosecutor's office said medical records seized showed he had an existing illness and was being treated by doctors. They also found torn-up sick notes at his apartment in Dusseldorf. He divided his time between there and his parents' home in Montabaur.

"The fact there are sick notes saying he was unable to work, among other things, that were found torn up, which were recent and even from the day of the crime, support the assumption based on the preliminary examination that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and his professional colleagues," a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said.

They have confirmed also his flying file at the Federal Aviation Office had a note which said he required "specific regular medical examination."

No suicide note was found or anything that hinted what he was about to do, or that he was motivated by any political or religious agenda.

The German authorities started searching the apartment of Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz in Dusseldorf-Unterbach, after they also scanned his parent's house 100 kilometres (62 miles) further away in Montabour, Thursday. Senior prosecutor Ralf Herrenbruck from Dusseldorf declared in a press statement that the investigations were being executed to find more details about a possible motive for the intentional descent in which Lubitz is suspected of committing suicide and killing 149 others. After evaluating the Airbus A320 voice recorder, investigators concluded that Lubitz locked the flight's captain out of the cockpit to then start the fatal descent into the French Alps. The Germanwings 4U 9525 flight crashed en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf with 144 passengers and six crew members on board on Tuesday. It is believed that there are no survivors.

Dusseldorf University Hospital confirmed Lubitz had been a patient and had come to the hospital on March 10 but declined to say why, ruling out German media reports it was for depression. Some of his friends have said he had suffered depression and had been in treatment with psychologists since 2009, for at least 18 months.

France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls called on Lufthansa to provide all information they had on him. This followed a series of press conferences by Lufthansa — the parent company of Germanwings — and Germanwings management, during which they failed to respond to specific questions about Lubitz and the flight. In some cases, they admitted they simply did not know the answers, including to such simple queries as to why the aircraft had been 30 minutes late taking off.

German press has also stated Lufthansa would have been well aware of Lubitz's condition, with his personnel file stating he suffered from a "serious depressive episode", yet faced questions as to why they allowed him to continue flying.

In treatment ... Dusseldorf University Hospital confirmed Andreas Lubitz had been a patient and come to the hospital on March 10. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Vigil ... a gendarme at the crash site of Germanwings Airbus A320. where 150 people died. Picture: Ella Pellegrini Source: News Corp Australia

Mr Valls said that Lufthansa should give the maximum of information, "so that we can understand why this pilot got to the point of this horrific action." He added that "Everything is pointing towards an act that we can't describe: criminal, crazy, suicidal".

Germanwings, which has asked for its adverts to be taken down from London Underground stations, was setting up a family assistance centre in the French city of Marseille.

They had also offered the victims' families "up to 50,000 euros ($54,800) per passenger" towards their immediate costs.

The assistance, which the families would not be required to pay back, was separate from the compensation that the airline will likely have to pay over the disaster, a Germanwings spokesman told AFP.

A religious ceremony will take place on Saturday morning at 10.30am (09:30 GMT) at the Notre-Dame-du-Bourg cathedral in the nearby town of Digne-les-Bains, police said.

Families continued to visit Le Vernet, the tiny village closest to the crash sites where a granite memorial has been erected. Etched in French, German, Spanish and English is "in memory of the victims of the air disaster of March 24, 2015".

Strong words ... French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has called on Lufthansa to reveal everything they know about Andreas Lubitz. Picture: AFP/Guillaume Souvant Source: AFP

Many lay flowers and comforted each other as they stared out toward the mountain behind which lay the remains of the plane and their loved ones, as overhead helicopters thumped back and forth carrying rescuers and crime scene investigators to the scene.

Belgian Claude Driessens, a brother of one of the crash victims Christian Driessens, said he was in a "rage" after hearing the crash may have been intentional. He also questioned what Lufthansa knew about the copilot's illness.

He said he found it unacceptable the airline allowed a sick pilot to fly a plane and secondly allowed a person to be alone in the cockpit contrary to policies by other airlines,

"For me that's blatant negligence," he said.

In the wake of the tragedy one recent Germanwings passenger told of how the pilot on her flight put them all at ease.

Recovery ... helicopters thump back and forth carrying rescuers and crime scene investigators to the scene. Picture: Ella Pellegrini Source: Supplied

It was day after the horrific crash that Britta Englisch boarded her Germanwings flight and she was feeling understandably emotional reported Buzzfeed.

But the pilot did something special in his effort to reassure passengers and she took to social media to applaud him.

"Yesterday morning at 8:40am., I got onto a Germanwings flight from Hamburg to Cologne with mixed feelings. But then the captain not only welcomed each passenger separately, he also made a short speech before take off. Not from the cockpit — he was standing in the cabin. He spoke about how the accident touched him and the whole crew. About how queasy the crew feels, but that everybody from the crew is voluntarily here. And about his family and that the crew have a family and that he is going to do everything to be with his family again tonight. It was completely silent. And then everybody applauded. I want to thank this pilot. He understood what everybody was thinking. And that he managed to give, at least me, a good feeling for this flight."

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