Andreas Lubitz Germanwings co-pilot suspected of deliberate destruction of the A320 aircraft Date of Birth: 18.12.1987 Country: Germany

Biography of Andreas Lubitz

Andreas Günter Lubitz was born on December 18, 1987, in the small German town of Montabaur, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. His father is a businessman, and his mother is a music teacher and church organist. The family also has another son, whose name and age are not mentioned for ethical reasons.

Andreas was described as a friendly and calm boy, who also had a love for sports and frequently went on morning runs with his father. He started working at Burger King during his school years and earned a reputation as a reliable and unnoticed young man. At the age of 14, Andreas began visiting a local aeroclub and developed a passion for flying. The profession of a pilot is highly prestigious in Germany, and the selection process for those aspiring to work in commercial aviation is rigorous. However, Andreas successfully passed all the tests, including psychological evaluations.

In 2008, after graduating from high school, he began studying at the Lufthansa Flight School in Bremen, and later at the Lufthansa Training Center in Goodyear, Arizona. However, during his training, Lubitz took several months of leave, claiming that he was suffering from periodic bouts of depression. Nevertheless, his instructors and classmates, as well as later colleagues, considered Andreas to be calm and sociable. He was an avid athlete, participating in sports activities organized by the Lufthansa sports club and regularly taking part in middle-distance races and half marathons.

In 2012, Andreas Lubitz started working for Germanwings. Throughout his education and career, he had accumulated 630 flight hours, a relatively low number compared to many other airlines. For about a year, Lubitz worked as a flight attendant while waiting for a pilot vacancy, and in September 2013, he transitioned to the position of a co-pilot. He had a close relationship with his teacher, Kathrin Goldbach, whom he had met while working at Burger King. They spent Christmas 2014 together and were seen as happy and friendly.

On March 24, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. Central European Time, an Airbus A320-211 departed from Barcelona, heading to Düsseldorf. Thirty minutes after takeoff, the plane started descending sharply over the French Alps and disappeared from radar ten minutes later, crashing into a mountainside. All 150 people on board, including several children, lost their lives. An investigation commission immediately began examining the circumstances of the tragic incident.

The search of Andreas Lubitz's apartment in Düsseldorf yielded unexpected results. Strong psychotropic drugs were found, along with records indicating that Lubitz was undergoing treatment for psychosomatic disorders and suicidal tendencies. A torn medical certificate was also discovered, indicating that Lubitz should not have been working on March 24. Additionally, it was revealed that he had sought treatment from an ophthalmologist for a progressive eye disease.

Suspicions were confirmed after the flight recorders, or "black boxes," were found and their contents were analyzed. It was discovered that immediately after takeoff, Lubitz twice mentioned to Captain Sondheimer that he could use the bathroom at any time since the captain had missed the opportunity during a long layover in Barcelona. At 10:27 a.m., after reaching cruising altitude, Sondheimer recommended that Lubitz prepare for landing in Düsseldorf, to which Lubitz responded briefly, "We'll see." The captain then left the cockpit. Shortly after, the plane began a rapid descent, and an automatic alarm sounded. The recording captured Captain Sondheimer demanding that the cockpit door be opened, followed by the sounds of him attempting to break down the door with a crowbar or ax. Less than two minutes later, another alarm sounded, and a cry of "Ground! Pull up! Open this damned door!" was heard. Throughout this time, Lubitz remained silent, but his calm breathing can be heard on the recording. At 10:40 a.m., the plane crashed.

According to experts, Lubitz intentionally initiated the plane's descent, and his mental state, exacerbated by the threat of being grounded due to vision problems, was the reason behind it. Kathrin Goldbach acknowledged the existence of these problems but insisted that they were working on them and planning their wedding, claiming that Lubitz had no reason to commit suicide. Psychologists at the airline who had worked with Lubitz also stated that he behaved completely normally before the flight. However, another circumstance emerged: Kathrin was expecting a child, but shortly before this, she learned about Lubitz's affair with a flight attendant named Maria. To reconcile, Lubitz gave Kathrin an Audi car as a birthday gift. Maria also testified, stating that her lover often woke up shouting, "We are falling," and claimed that the whole world would hear about him.

Whatever the motives behind Andreas Lubitz's behavior, the result was a true catastrophe that claimed the lives of 150 people. Germanwings suffered losses of at least 300 million euros and also lost its reputation. Airlines worldwide have since strengthened the requirements for in-house psychologists and tightened flight rules, now requiring a minimum of two people in the cockpit and assigning a senior flight attendant to monitor the actions of the co-pilot in the absence of the captain.