Dusseldorf/ Montabaur - Pilot Andreas Lubitz feared losing his flying licence over problems with his eyes - but his symptoms were brought on by stress and could have been cured, investigators claim.
He is reported to have crashed his plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board, because he mistakenly believed that he was going blind.
It is understood that Lubitz complained of blurred vision and saw dark spots in front of his eyes, halos and flashes of light - causing him to misjudge distances on occasions.
But investigators said there was no documentation showing that he had any physical ailment affecting his sight.
Detectives are now planning to examine sealed medical files in the University Clinic of Dusseldorf to see if his complaint was psychosomatic - that is, influenced by his state of mind.
Police seized prescription drugs for a psychosomatic condition and anti-depressants during the search of the Germanwings pilot’s apartment in Dusseldorf last week.
A source close to the police investigation said on Monday: “If his blurred vision is indeed the reason why he killed himself, and all those others, then he may have chosen to die for entirely the wrong reasons.
“His problem could have been easily cleared up with simple drugs. But he lived for flying and was terrified that he would lose his pilot’s licence. In his mind that would have been worse than death.”
A Germanwings spokesman said: “We had no knowledge of any acute illness.”
The astonishing revelation came as it was claimed that Lubitz had shown “suicidal tendencies” before becoming a pilot. Prosecutor Ralf Herrenbrueck said: “Several years ago before obtaining his pilot’s licence the co-pilot was in a long period of psychotherapeutic treatment with noticeable suicidal tendencies. In the ensuing years and up until recently, he had doctors’ visits and was written off sick.”
The 27-year-old is said to have suffered from “burnout syndrome” and from severe depression which he hid from his employers.
He had been declared “unfit to work” by a doctor but had ripped up medical notes, including one for the day of the crash.
A commission of 100 police officers codenamed Alpine Squad is working to try to establish why he committed suicide and mass murder on the Barcelona to Dusseldorf airliner.
French authorities are trying to identify DNA from the victims and locate the jet’s second black box. But police spokesman Patrick Touron said conditions at the site had slowed progress. He added: “We have slopes, falling rocks and ground that tends to crumble. As safety is key, the recovery process is slow, which is a great regret.”
Meanwhile Lubitz’s girlfriend - a maths teacher named locally as Kathrin Goldbach - has been quizzed by police.
She was reportedly pregnant and having relationship difficulties with Lubitz at the time of the crash.
Daily Mail