article_snippet.sent: Killer pilot Andreas Lubitz searched the internet for information on suicide and depression using the name 'Skydevil', it has emerged.
article_snippet.sent: Parent company Lufthansa said Lubitz told officials at an airline training school Lubitz had gone through a period of severe depression in the past, raising questions over whether medical checks of crew members by the safety regulators and airlines are rigorous enough.
article_snippet.sent: Lubitz perished in the crash alongside all those on board after locking Lubitz co-pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately accelerating into the French mountainside, prosecutors claim.
article_snippet.sent: Lubitz lengthy battle with depression was revealed afterwards when investigators carried out extensive checks on Lubitz record.
article_snippet.sent: German newspaper Welt am Sonntag quoted sources as having discovered Lubitz mental health issues three days after the crash by accessing Lubitz medical file at Lufthansa's Aeromedical Center.
article_snippet.sent: Records revealed Lubitz had been tested by doctors six times, the report claimed.
article_snippet.sent: Lubitz had suffered any health issues that would have compromised Lubitz ability to fly.
article_snippet.sent: last week Lubitz however conceded Lubitz had told Lubitz flight school of a previous bout of 'severe depression' in 2009.
article_snippet.sent: Lubitz was later given a medical certificate confirming Lubitz was fit to fly.
article_snippet.sent: Prosecutors claimed the pilot was diagnosed as suicidal several years before receiving Lubitz licence and that doctors had only recently concluded there was no evidence Lubitz wanted to harm Lubitz.
article_snippet.sent: Lubitz had been signed off sick repeatedly in the days before the crash, with doctors notes found crumpled in Lubitz apartment following the disaster.
article_snippet.sent: It is not yet known whether the pilot was taking medication at the time of the crash, though data recovered from the scene revealed Lubitz had deliberately accelerated into the side of a mountain.
article_snippet.sent: Lubitz had previously been prescribed an anti-anxiety drug so strong that users are warned not to drive while under its influence.
article_snippet.sent: In the days before hand Lubitz had researched suicide methods and cockpit security online, all the while telling doctors
article_snippet.sent: Lubitz was not flying but on sick leave.