DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Andreas Lubitz, who was flying the Germanwings jetliner that slammed into a mountain in the French Alps on Tuesday, sought treatment for vision problems that may have jeopardized his ability to continue working as a pilot, two officials with knowledge of the investigation said Saturday.
The revelation of the possible trouble with his eyes added a new element to the emerging portrait of the 27-year-old German pilot, who the authorities say was also being treated for psychological issues and had hidden aspects of his medical condition from his employer.
It is not clear how severe his eye problems were or how they might have been related to his psychological condition. One person with knowledge of the investigation said the authorities had not ruled out the possibility that the vision problem could have been psychosomatic.
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Mr. Lubitz, the co-pilot, was alone in the cockpit of the Airbus A320 jetliner on the flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, ignoring demands from the captain to be let back in, when the plane crashed. The French prosecutor in the case, drawing from cockpit voice recordings and other data about the flight, has said that Mr. Lubitz deliberately guided the plane, with another 149 people aboard, into the mountains. On Saturday, a special Mass to honor the victims was held in the town of Digne-les-Bains, near the site of the crash.
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Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about Andreas Lubitz, the pilot believed to have crashed a Germanwings plane in the French Alps, according to investigators:
What We Know- The French prosecutor in charge of the case has said that Mr. Lubitz, the co-pilot, was alone at the controls of the Airbus A320 in the ten minutes before the crash. Mr. Lubitz did not respond to pleas from the captain to be readmitted to the cockpit and set the plane on a descent course that took it into the mountains, the prosecutor said.
- Mr. Lubitz had been receiving treatment for a psychological or psychiatric condition that he did not disclose to his employer.
- He had also sought treatment for a vision problem.
- He had doctors’ notes in his apartment in Düsseldorf excusing him from work, including one good for Tuesday, the day of the crash.
- His pilot’s license included a designation indicating that he had a medical condition.
- What We Don’t Know
- When his psychological problems began, their severity and precise nature, or when he began treatment.
- The severity of his eye problems, when they first occurred or whether they could have been psychosomatic and related to his psychological problems.
- What medication, if any, he was taking or had been prescribed for him.
- Whether any family members, friends or colleagues were aware of his problems and raised any flags with the airline about his suitability to fly.
- Whether an interruption in his pilot training was related to any psychological or medical problems.
Since the crash, investigators in Germany and France, airline regulators, political leaders and the families of the victims have sought answers about what might have led Mr. Lubitz to do what he did.
Friends and acquaintances have repeatedly said how important flying was to Mr. Lubitz, who began piloting gliders at a flying club near his hometown at the age of 14.
In a search of Mr. Lubitz’s apartment here in Düsseldorf on Thursday, the police found doctors’ notes that said he was too ill to work, including on the day of the crash. One had been torn up and thrown in the wastebasket, supporting investigators’ suspicion that he was hiding his medical problems from the airline.
It appears that, as was the case with his psychiatric problems, Mr. Lubitz did not tell the airline about his vision concerns.
The Düsseldorf University Hospital said in a statement on Friday that Mr. Lubitz had been evaluated at its clinic in February and seen again as recently as March 10. Reached by phone on Saturday, a spokeswoman would not comment on whether he had sought treatment for vision problems, citing patient privacy laws. The hospital has an eye clinic. On Friday the hospital denied speculation that Mr. Lubitz had sought treatment for depression there.
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Map: What Happened on the Germanwings Flight
Although he was flying for a commercial airline, Mr. Lubitz was a co-pilot and not working the kind of long-haul routes to which he aspired.
When Klaus Radke, president of the club where Mr. Lubitz learned to fly gliders, the Luftsportclub Westerwald, first met Andreas Lubitz, he appeared to be a typical 14-year-old in the throes of puberty who was unusual only in his wide-eyed fascination with flying. Last fall, when Mr. Lubitz came back to the club to put in some flight hours he needed to keep his glider’s license current, Mr. Radke was impressed by the fit, professional and by all appearances self-assured pilot Mr. Lubitz had become.
“When I saw him as an adult compared to a youth, I thought, ‘He really amounted to something,’ †Mr. Radke said Saturday under a sunny sky as wind swept the grassy landing strip used by the glider club. “He was confident, helpful. I thought, ‘Man, he’s someone who made it.’ â€
Mr. Radke, who said the club had received emailed death threats for helping Mr. Lubitz begin his flying career, picked up no sign last year that anything was amiss with Mr. Lubitz.
“I’m not a doctor,†Mr. Radke said. “For me he was normal.â€
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Victims of Germanwings Flight 9525
Time and again, the same adjectives pop up when people remember Mr. Lubitz. He was courteous and friendly, but reserved and not someone who drew attention to himself — thoroughly normal. The one thing that set him apart was his love of flying.
Mr. Lubitz grew up in Montabaur. Detlef Adolf, manager of a Burger King there, described Mr. Lubitz as a reliable and punctual employee during the time, around 2007 or 2008, he worked part time as a cook at the restaurant.
Mr. Lubitz was still in high school when he worked at Burger King. Mr. Adolf remembered how overjoyed Mr. Lubitz was when, having graduated from high school, he was accepted into pilot training.
“He was happy — happy that he passed,†Mr. Adolf said.
The next time that Mr. Adolf saw Mr. Lubitz was when he came into the restaurant for a meal sometime later. “He told me he broke off his training but he didn’t say why,†Mr. Adolf said. Mr. Adolf did not pry.
The parent company of Germanwings, Lufthansa, said this week that Mr. Lubitz had interrupted his pilot training at one point for several months for reasons it did not disclose.
Referring to the gap in Mr. Lubitz’s training and a designation on his flying license that indicated he was under regular medical care, Mr. Radke said: “If that’s true, as a responsible employer you should ask questions. That’s my personal opinion.â€
“If you’re driving a car and the oil light goes on, do you keep driving? No,†Mr. Radke said. “If no action was taken, there’s a flaw in the system.â€
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