New call for airline mental health rule following Germanwings crash probe

Lawyers for the families of British victims killed in the Germanwings air crash have welcomed calls for new rules on reporting pilot mental health issues.

Flight 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed in the French Alps on March 24 last year, killing 150 people including three from Britain.

French investigators have urged new world rules requiring medical professionals to warn authorities when a pilot’s mental health could threaten public safety.

Evidence in an earlier report suggested co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who had previously been treated for depression, deliberately downed the plane after locking the pilot out of the cockpit.

The air accident bureau BEA has now published its final report on the crash almost one year on, looking at issues including cockpit safety, psychological testing of pilots, and how mental health issues are handled.

Lawyers for the families said it was concerning that issues experienced by Lubitz, who had seen 41 doctors in recent years and been referred to a psychiatric clinic a fortnight before the crash, had not been communicated from doctors to the airline or authorities.

Jim Morris, specialist aviation lawyer at Irwin Mitchell which represents British and Spanish families affected, said: “We need clear and consistent guidelines in Europe and internationally on where the threat to public safety outweighs medical confidentiality for pilots — so the BEA safety recommendations are welcomed.”

Traces of anti-depressants and sleeping medication were found in Lubitz’s system. The BEA said because Lubitz had not informed anyone about the doctors’ warnings, “no action could have been taken by the authorities or his employer to prevent him from flying”.

Arnaud Desjardin, who led the BEA investigation, said at a press briefing in Le Bourget yesterday that experts found the co-pilot’s symptoms at that time “could be compatible with a psychotic episode”, but this information had not been communicated to Germanwings. He said guidelines are needed on the balance between patient privacy and a possible threat to public safety, describing the situation in Germany as particularly strict.

Voice recorder evidence has shown Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and put the Airbus A320 into a continual descent before it crashed into a mountain.

Evidence showed the captain tried to break down the door. Cockpit security was strengthened on passenger planes after the 9/11 attacks with a code system installed to prevent people getting in.