News

Germanwings Copilot May Have Researched Suicide Days Before The Crash

by Emily Arata

With each day of the investigation into last week's Germanwings plane crash, prosecutors paint a clearer picture of copilot Andreas Lubitz.

NBC reports Düsseldorf prosecutors revealed Lubitz, who is believed to have locked the pilot out of the cockpit and purposefully crashed Flight 9525, used his tablet to research the security on cockpit doors.

He even reportedly looked up different methods of suicide, as well as how to go about executing them, between March 16 and 23. The flight crashed March 24.

The news comes on top of reports Lubitz had been treated for depression in 2009 and sought medical help for problems with sleep, leading a Marseille prosecutor to say the evidence suggests the pilot was "very afraid" of being medically grounded.

CNN reports the 27-year-old may have seen up to six different doctors in his quest to improve his mental health.

Attorney-General Ralf Herrenbrück said the new information about Lubitz's search history is still new and will take time to analyze and verify. The investigation is ongoing.

According to NBC, the search findings only contribute to conversations about whether post 9/11 security measures went too far considering Lubitz was able to successfully lock the other pilot out of the cockpit.

Citations: Germanwings Crash Pilot Lubitz Researched Suicide Online: Prosecutors (NBC News)