Germanwings Crash: Co-pilot Lubitz ‘Hid illness’

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The co-pilot suspected to have deliberately crashed the Germanwings airliner into the French Alps allegedly hid details of an illness, German prosecutors say. BBC has  more:

Torn-up sick notes were found in the homes of Andreas Lubitz, they say, including one for the day of the crash, which killed 150 passengers and crew. A German hospital confirmed he had been a patient recently but denied reports he had been treated for depression.

The EU’s aviation regulator has urged airlines to adopt new safety rules. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in future two crew members should be present in the cockpit at all times. Data from the voice recorder suggests Mr Lubitz purposely started an eight-minute descent into the mountains after locking the pilot out of the flight deck.

There were no survivors when Flight 4U 9525 crashed in a remote mountain valley on Tuesday while en route from Barcelona in Spain to Duesseldorf in Germany. Prosecutors say there was no evidence of a political or religious motive for his actions and no suicide note has been found.