Evidence Also Points To Treatment For Depression

Evidence uncovered in the apartment of Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz indicates he had been examined by an eye specialist at University Hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany shortly before he apparently flew an A320 into terrain in the French Alps last week.

Fox News relays a report from the Wall Street Journal that indicates that the pilot had been seen by a neuropsychologist for depression as well. The paper cites a source "familiar with the investigation" who said that the doctor gave Lubitz a note saying he could be excused from work on the day of the accident, but that Lubitz apparently shredded that document and others related to his condition.

The New York Times reports that Lubitz had sought treatment for vision problems, though it is not clear whether the problem might have been psychosomatic. Antidepressants were also found in his apartment, according to the paper.

The U.K. newspaper The Telegraph reports that the captain of the A320 who had been locked out of the cockpit can be heard on the recording from the airplane's Cockpit Voice Recorder pleading and then yelling to be let back into the cockpit. He reportedly apparently used an axe on board the plane to try to break down the reinforced cockpit door.

Lufthansa said through a spokesman that as far as the airline knew, he "had a clean background."

The German tabloid Bild reported that instructors at Lufthansa's Arizona flight training facility had stopped Lubitz's training in 2009 because he was "not suitable for flying." He had undergone 18 months of treatment and had been diagnosed with a "severe depressive episode," according to the tabloid.

There are still no indications of any political or religious motivation for his action, according to prosecutors in Germany.

FMI: www.bea.aero/en