INSIDE THE MIND OF A MASS KILLER
THE PILOT who flew a plane into a mountain killing 150 people was being treated for problems with his eyesight that could have threatened his career, it was disclosed yesterday.
Andreas Lubitz, 27, is said to have visited a hospital eye clinic twice in the past month over “vision problems”.
Investigators will be examining the theory that severe stress – caused by a fear he might lose his job due to failing eyesight – may have driven Lubitz to commit suicide by flying an Airbus A320 into the side of a mountain in the French Alps on Tuesday. Lubitz, who also suffered psychiatric problems, had sought treatment at Düsseldorf University Hospital for his eyesight in February and again on March 10, it was claimed yesterday. It is also possible that the eye condition was triggered by stress.
He had been given a doctor’s note that had excused him from working, but instead of presenting it to his employers, Lubitz had torn it up and thrown it in the bin at his flat in Düsseldorf.
It was disclosed yesterday that Lubitz’s parents, Guenter and Ursula, had told of their devastation over his actions. Bernard Bartolini, mayor of a town near the crash site, said he had spoken to Guenter. “He is carrying on his back the entire weight of the drama. He is a man whose life has broken down,” said Mr Bartolini.
The father of one of the British victims said yesterday that “if there was a motive or a reason for the act we don’t want to hear it”. Phillip Bramley, whose son Paul, 28, died in the disaster, warned airlines to do more to look after their pilots.
He said: “I believe the airlines should be more transparent and their pilots looked after properly. We put our lives and our children’s lives in their hands.”
Close to the crash scene where the wreckage and body parts remained strewn across the mountains, hundreds of mourners gathered yesterday at a cathedral in the Alps to remember the victims of Flight 4U9525.
The special mass, held in Digne-les-Bains, honoured the victims and offered support to bereaved relatives of the 150 people killed on Tuesday when the Airbus 320 was deliberately flown into a mountainside.
Among those remembered were the three Britons who perished – Martyn Matthews, 50, a father-of-two, Paul Bramley, 28, a hospitality student, and seven-month-old baby Julian Pracz-Bandres, who was travelling with his Spanish mother.
Yesterday, Phillip Bramley, father of Paul Bramley, spoke of his grief while visiting the crash site. Fighting tears, he read from a prepared statement in which he warned airlines of the need to look after their pilots.
“What happened on the morning of the 24th of March was the act of a person who at the very least was ill. If there was a motive or a reason for the act, we don’t want to hear it.
“What is relevant is that this should never happen again. My son and everyone on that plane should not be forgotten ever. I will not get him back. I will not be able to take him home, because of the nature of the impact. Me and my family will visit here forever.” He added: “I believe the airlines should be more transparent and their pilots looked after properly. We put our lives and our children’s lives in their hands.”
Bishop Jean-Philippe Nault, who led the mass, told mourners: “We are filled with dismay, sadness, incomprehension, and a keen sense of injustice.”
The service came as further details emerged of the medical and psychiatric condition of Andreas Lubitz, the 27-year-old co-pilot who is thought to have deliberately crashed the aircraft.
It was reported yesterday that Lubitz was being treated for “vision problems” that may have threatened his career as a pilot, while another source claimed he was being treated for “severe burn-out syndrome”, a condition that it was claimed can cause suicidal feelings and is related to severe stress in the workplace.
Lubitz had a doctor’s note that would have excused him from work on day of the crash but he had ripped it up. Medication was taken from his flat by police for examination.