The co-pilot of Germanwings flight 4U9525, Andreas Lubitz, takes part in the Airport Hamburg 10-mile run on Sept. 13, 2009, in Hamburg, Germany.(Photo: Foto Team Mueller, AFP/Getty Images)
The co-pilot with a history of depression who flew a Germanwings Airbus 320 into the French Alps in March killing all 150 on board reached out to dozens of doctors before the crash, according to a French law enforcement official.
Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin revealed the information to the Associated Press. He added he will be meeting next week with relatives of those who died to share information about the disaster. "I have decided to prioritize the victims' families," Robin told the AP.
Andreas Lubitz was diagnosed in 2009 with depression and treated with anti-depressants. He was a co-pilot for Germanwings, a budget-airline subsidiary of Lufthansa.
Robin did not elaborate why Lubitz tried to contact doctors. The prosecutor is leading an investigation in the crash and will meet the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday to discuss investigative findings and delays in handing over remains of victims to families, AP reported.
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The bodies of the victims remain in Marseille, France. The Associated Press reported that a lawyer representing several German families said they have grown angry over the delays and errors in official death certificates.
A voice recorder recovered from the crash of Flight 9525 revealed that Lubitz locked himself in the cockpit after pilot Patrick Sonderheimer left, and began to send the plane into a descent. Sonderheimer can be heard banging on the cockpit door and screaming "for God's sake, open the door," before screams can be heard from the passengers as the plane crashes.
Germanwings and parent company Lufthansa have said that Lubitz passed all medical tests and was cleared by doctors as fit to fly.
Robin said he had received responses to a formal French request for international cooperation in his probe, including from Germany — home to about half of the victims as well as Germanwings and its parent company Lufthansa. Robin said he would address the media after thoroughly examining the responses and meeting the families next week.
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