Germanwings crash: Pilot confidentiality 'should be relaxed'

French investigators have called for medical confidentiality to be relaxed for pilots, in the wake of last year's Germanwings disaster. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz was urged by a doctor to attend psychiatric hospital weeks before he crashed the plane on 24 March 2015, but his employer was never alerted, their final report says.

The plane crashed in the French Alps almost a year ago

All 150 people on board died as Flight 9525 hit a mountain in the French Alps. Investigators believe Lubitz brought down the plane deliberately. He had been suffering from severe depression, they said, but doctors had been unable to disclose this.

The faces of some of those on board the Airbus 320

Who were the victims?
What drives people to murder-suicide?
Who was Andreas Lubitz?


The report, by the BEA investigation agency, said confidentiality had to be balanced with the risk an individual might pose to public safety and that "clearer rules" were needed. It was also critical of pilots being able to make self-declarations about their health, which allowed them to hide any illnesses.

Lubitz medical visits weeks leading up to crash

• 17 February: Doctor issues eight-day sick note not forwarded to Germanwings; second doctor refers Lubitz to psychotherapist and psychiatrist for outpatient treatment of psychosomatic disorder and anxiety disorder

• 22 February: Second doctor issues sick note for three days

• 9 March: Third doctor issues sick note, end date unknown, not forwarded to Germanwings

• 10 March: Second doctor refers Lubitz for psychiatric hospital treatment due to possible psychosis

• 12 March: Second doctor issues sick note for 19 days, not forwarded to Germanwings

• 18 March: Fourth doctor issues sick note for five days

The head of the investigation, Arnaud Desjardin, said Lubitz had in December 2014 begun to show symptoms that "could be compatible with a psychotic episode" but this information was not passed on to Germanwings.

The report also calls for more stringent medical checks for pilots - it recommends regular analysis to check for "psychological or psychiatric problems".