The co-pilot believed to have deliberately crashed a Germanwings plane into the French Alps was classified as suicidal "several years ago" but had appeared more stable of late, German prosecutors say.
As investigators in both countries tried to zero in on a potential motive, it emerged that the first officer, Andreas Lubitz, was receiving treatment from neurologists and psychiatrists who had signed him off sick from work a number of times.
However doctors had recently found no sign he intended to hurt himself or others, said Ralf Herrenbrueck, spokesman for the prosecutor's office in the western city of Duesseldorf, on Monday.
Meanwhile investigators sifting through the wreckage and hundreds of body parts in the French Alps were forced to resume the hunt on foot as bad weather hampered helicopter flights.
"The teams will get to the site via the path that is already in existence," said Yves Naffrechoux from the local mountain police.
Authorities are hoping to identify more DNA from the 150 people who died, as well as locate the jet's second black box that should provide more clues as to the circumstances of the tragedy.
Forensic teams have isolated almost 80 distinct DNA strands from the shattered aircraft and have described the grim task as "unprecedented" given the tricky mountain terrain and the speed at which the plane smashed into the rock.
Investigators evaluating voice recorder data say co-pilot Lubitz allegedly locked his captain out of the cockpit and slammed the plane into a French mountainside last Tuesday.
The flight, en route to Duesseldorf from Barcelona, crashed at a speed of 700 kilometres an hour, instantly killing all on board.
Fending off an international media frenzy, Herrenbrueck, of the Duesseldorf prosecutor's office, criticised conjecture about Lubitz's alleged motives and said German authorities would not take part in "speculation".
Herrenbrueck said, based on the evaluation of medical documents and the testimony of people who knew the co-pilot, there was still no indication that he had told anyone of his plans or left behind a suicide note.
"Nor have particular circumstances been identified in his personal or professional environment to offer verifiable evidence about a possible motive," he said.
Medical files did not point to any "organic disorder", Herrenbrueck said.
But he added that Lubitz underwent psychotherapy several years ago, before he became a pilot in 2013, "for a long period due to diagnosed suicidal tendencies".
However it said his doctors had found nothing recently that could have pointed to the events of last Tuesday.
Media reports have emerged that the 27-year-old was taking medication for severe depression and was being treated for problems with his vision, possibly for a potentially career-ending detached retina.
On Monday evening, an ecumenical prayer service in memory of the 150 crash victims drew hundreds of diplomats and believers to the German church in Rome, Santa Maria dell'Anima.
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