SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Germanwings pilot researched deadly drugs

The co-pilot who crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 searched for the term "living will" the day before the crash, German prosecutors say.

Andreas Lubitz
Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz Source: AAP

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

German prosecutors say the co-pilot who crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 researched how to get hold of deadly drugs and the possibility of a living will - a finding that suggests he was mulling other means of killing himself until the last minute.

Duesseldorf prosecutor Christoph Kumpa confirmed a report on Friday in German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that Andreas Lubitz searched on the internet in March for ways of getting hold of potassium cyanide, valium and lethal combinations of medicines.

He also searched for the term "living will" on the afternoon of March 23, the day before the crash.

A living will spells out a patient's wishes for medical care if he is unable to communicate with doctors.

Prosecutors say Lubitz locked his captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the Airbus A320 into a mountainside during a flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, killing all 150 people on board.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

A key source of evidence has been the browsing history on a tablet computer found at the 27-year-old's apartment, and prosecutors previously have said that he spent time online researching suicide methods and cockpit door security in the week before the crash.

Prosecutors in both Germany and France are investigating the crash.

On Thursday, Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said information from Lubitz's tablet showed he had also investigated vision problems, and "feared going blind," which would have ended his aviation career.

Lubitz, who had a history of depression, had seven medical appointments in the month before the crash, including three with a psychiatrist, and had taken eight sick days off work, Robin said.

Some of the doctors felt Lubitz was psychologically unstable, and some felt he was unfit to fly, but didn't report that information to anyone because of medical secrecy laws, Robin said.

He added that it wasn't yet clear if the vision woes were real or imagined.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world