Killer in the cockpit:First clues into why German pilot deliberately killed 150 people aboard flight A320.

The Germanwings pilot who deliberately crashed into a mountain killing 150 people had to stop his training because he was suffering from depression and 'burnout', it emerged today.

Andreas Günter Lubitz locked his captain out of the cockpit before ploughing the Airbus A320 into the French Alps at more than 400mph.

The chilling final moments of the doomed jet were revealed by French prosecutors who said Lubitz's sole aim was to 'destroy the plane'.

It has since emerged that the 28-year-old was forced to postpone his pilot training in 2008 because of mental health problems, with a friend saying he was 'in depression.' 

Airline bosses confirmed Lubitz had taken several months off work and had to retrain to join the firm, but insisted he was '100% fit to fly'.

The revelation will undoubtedly form a central part of the investigation and put pressure on the industry to explain whether enough was done to ensure Lubitz was fit to pilot a commercial aircraft.

It also emerged today that his parents only discovered that their son was a mass murderer just minutes before the bombshell press conference by prosecutors in Marseille. 

German police have raided Lubitz's €500,000 family home in Montabaur as well as his apartment in Dusseldorf. 

It is understood that his father is a successful businessman and his mother a piano teacher. They are expected to be questioned by police. 

At an extraordinary press conference earlier, Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin gave a disturbing account of the cockpit voice recordings extracted from black box.

He said Lubitz locked his captain out after the senior officer left the flight deck.

At that point, Lubitz used the flight managing system to put the plane into a descent, something that can only be done manually - and deliberately.

He said: 'The intention was to destroy the plane. Death was instant. The plane hit the mountain at 700kmh (430mph).

'I don't think that the passengers realised what was happening until the last moments because on the recording you only hear the screams in the final seconds'.  

Earlier in the flight, Mr Robin said Lubitz's responses were initially courteous, but became 'curt' when the captain began the mid-flight briefing on the planned landing of the plane.

The captain - named by local media as German father-of-two Patrick Sonderheimer - then left the cockpit but found himself locked out when he tried to re-enter.

Mr Robin said: 'We hear the pilot asking the co-pilot to take over and we hear the sound of a chair being pushed back and a door closing so we assume that the captain went to the toilet or something.  

'So the co-pilot is on his own, and it is while he's on his own that the co-pilot is in charge of the plane and uses the flight management system to start the descent of the plane.

'At this altitude, this can only be done voluntarily. We hear several shouts from the captain asking to get in, speaking through the intercom system, but there's no answer from the cockpit.' 

Audio from the recording captures Mr Sonderheimer furiously pounding on the door to no avail. 

Mr Robin said Lubitz 'voluntarily' refused to open the door, adding that his breathing was normal throughout the final minutes of the flight.

He said: 'His breath was not of somebody who was struggling. He never said a single word. It was total silence in the cockpit for the ten past minutes. Nothing.'  

Air Traffic Control at Marseille asked for a distress signal, but there is still no response.

He added: 'So the plane becomes a priority for a forced landing.

'Control asks other planes to contact this Airbus and no answer is forthcoming.

'There are alarm systems which indicate to all those on board the proximity of the ground. Then we hear noises of someone trying to break into the door. 

'The door is reinforced according to international standards.' 

Mr Robin went on: 'Just before final impact we hear the sound of a first impact. It's believed that the plane may have hit something before the final impact. 

'There is no distress signal or Mayday signal. No answer was received despite numerous calls from the tower.' 

Referring to Lubitz, Mr Robin said: 'He did this for a reason which we don't know why, but we can only deduct that he destroyed this plane.

'We have asked for information from the German investigation on both his profession and personal background'. 

Mr Robin said he had no known links with terrorism, adding: 'There is no reason to suspect a terrorist attack.'

And asked whether he believed the crash that killed 150 people was the result of suicide, he said: 'People who commit suicide usually do so alone... I don't call it a suicide.' 

Responding to revelations, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said all pilots undergo annual medical checks, but not special psychiatric assessments beyond training.

He added: 'He passed all medical exams, all checks. He was 100 per cent fit to fly without any restrictions. 

'I am not a lawyer. I am the CEO of a big company. If one person takes 149 people with him to death, it is not suicide.' 

Germanwings said: 'Not in our worst nightmare could we imagine something like this happening.' 

However, it emerged today that Lubitz had to stop his pilot training in 2008 because he was depressed and suffering 'burnout'. 

16 TEENAGERS, TWO BABIES AND A FATHER: VICTIMS OF THE FLIGHT

Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said those who died came from at least 13 different countries - with 72 German nationals and 49 people from Spain confirmed to have been on passenger lists for the plane. 

There has been some confusion over numbers of passengers and countries they are from, because of dual nationalities.      

UK

Martyn Matthews, a father-of-two with another child on the way. Mr Matthews, of Wolverhampton, was on business in Barcelona. 

Marina Bandrés López-Belio, from Huesca, was travelling with her seven-month-old baby Julian from her uncle's funeral in Zaragoza. 

They had been living in Manchester. Ms Lopez-Belio had not been able to fly home direct to Manchester, so had opted for a flight to Dusseldorf. 

Paul Andrew Bramley, 28, originally from Hull, was also a passenger on the flight, the Foreign Office confirmed.  

US 

U.S. government contractor Yvonne Selke, 57, and her graduate daughter Emily, of Nokesville, Virginia, were both passengers on the doomed flight.

Yvonne was a long-serving and highly regarded employee of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., while Emily graduated from Drexel University, Philadelphia, in 2013.

Raymond Selke confirmed on Wednesday that his wife and daughter were among the 150 people who died on a Germanwings flight from Spain to Germany the day before.

In a statement, he said: 'Our entire family is deeply saddened by the losses of Yvonne and Emily Selke. Two wonderful, caring, amazing people who meant so much to so many. At this difficult time we respectfully ask for privacy and your prayers.’

A third U.S. citizen was also on the crashed plane, but the State Department has yet to release the name of the victim. 

Germany

Class of 16 year 10 pupils from Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium school in west Germany on an exchange trip to Barcelona

Their two Spanish teachers -  Sonja Cercek and Stefanie T.

Maria Radner, 34, an opera singer at the Deutsche Oper am Rhine in Dusseldorf. The contralto was travelling with her husband and baby after having performed in Barcelona, with fellow opera singer Oleg Bryjak, who also perished.

Thomas Treppe, a fashion consultant, had been travelling on business when the plane crashed, El Pais reported. 

María de Pablo Nuño, a Spanish teacher who had travelled to see her family in Barcelona.  

Spain

Josep Sabaté Casellas, worked for Espirit and was travelling to a business meeting in Germany. He was married with three children and was believed to have a fourth child on the way. 

Teacher Pilar Vicente Sebastián, 52, had been on her way to see her two children who were studying in Dusseldorf, according to Levante. 

A newly married 23-year-old man from La Llagosta, who got married on Saturday, was travelling with his wife, es reported. 

A grandmother, her daughter and grandaughter from Sant Cugat del Vallès in Catalonia were all travelling together on a visit to Dusseldorf, according to the Huffington Post. 

Manuel Rives, 52, was a married father of three and representative for the major Spanish trade union in Delphi, reported El Pais. Colleagues were seen carrying his photo, remembering the worker, today. 

The newspaper also reported that businessman and amateur rower Carles Masanas Milla was going to a food fair in Cologne. 

Ariadna Falguera, 33, wife of a member of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) party, was confirmed to have been among the passengers, according to El Pais.   

Australia 

Mother and son Carol and Greig Friday, of Victoria in Australia.  

Belgium

Christian Driessens, 59, a father and grandfather, travelled on planes almost every week for business and was fondly remembered by his family as an avid globetrotter, who loved to travel.   

Kazakhstan

Opera singer Oleg Bryjak, 54, a baritone, had just performed Richard Wagner's 'Siegfried' at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Paul Andrew Bramley (left), originally from Hull, Marina Bandres Lopez-Belio (right), a 37-year-old Spanish woman living in Manchester who was travelling with her seven-month-old son, Julian
Graduate Emily Selke, pictured, has been named as one of the two Americans killed in the crash. Her mother, U.S. government contractor Yvonne Selke, was also on board the doomed Airbus A320

Opera singer Maria Radner (left), who was travelling with her baby, and Oleg Bryjak (right) were among those killed in the crash

Australian victims: Mother and son Carol and Greig Friday, from Victoria, were among the 150 passengers and crew on board Flight 4U 9525







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