Lubitz, 27, surfed on-line for diuretic drugs before his murder-suicide at the controls of the Germanwings Airbus 320
Killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz spiked the cockpit coffee of flight captain Patrick Sondenheimer with a drug making him go to the toilet, it was claimed today.
Lubitz, 27, surfed on-line for diuretic drugs before his murder-suicide at the controls of the Germanwings Airbus 320.
Lubitz needed his skipper to leave the cockpit as he plunged the aircraft - and all 150 people on board - into a mountainside on the French Alps using auto-pilot on March 24.
The latest information comes from Lubitz's computer seized by Dusseldorf prosecutors shortly after the disaster, according to reports in Germany.
It is still being trawled as police seek to establish the reasons for the tragedy.
Lubitz may have acquired a diuretic - which increases the need to urinate - to pour into the drink of the captain, accelerating his need to use an on-board bathroom. ` Prosecutors refused to comment on the report. More information gleaned from his computer files is expected to be released later in the week.
The report came amid growing calls for a proper tribute to Capt Sondenheimer, with tens of thousands of messages posted in his memory.
He was the father of a three-year-old son and a daughter, six. He was only on the flight because he had changed his work rota from long haul to short haul in order to spend more time with his family.
Evidence from the cockpit voice recorder suggests Lubitz locked the door when Capt Sondenheimer left for a toilet break.
He then used controls to override the entry code, downing the plane as the captain desperately tried to break back in with a crow bar.
Lufthansa, parent company of Germanwings, is ordering staff not to wearing uniforms at an April 17 memorial service in Cologne Cathedral.
Psychologists warned the sight of the uniforms might prove "too traumatic" for mourners to handle in the wake of the tragedy. Instead, they are being asked to attend the service in civilian dress.
Yesterday, a photo said to depict hero Germanwings captain Patrick Sondenheimer emerged for the first time, two weeks after the plane crash.
Mr Sondenheimer frantically tried to smash his way into Flight 4U9525's cockpit as he shouted at killer co-pilot Andreas Lubitz: "For God's sake, open the door."
Unlike 27-year-old Lubitz, whose face is now recognised around the world, Mr Sondenheimer's appearance and background were mostly unknown.
Now this photo shows the hero captain at a shrine inside Dusseldorf Airport.
The black-and-white framed image appears to be just inches from a photo of Lubitz, the co-pilot who locked Mr Sondenheimer out of the cockpit and brought the jet down in the French Alps.
A social media campaign has been running for more than a week to memorialise Mr Sondenheimer's efforts to save those on board.
One person wrote: "Forget the co-pilot and remember Patrick Sondenheimer, the real hero of the day who tried to save those in his care."
The captain was one of six crew members who died on the doomed jet on March 24, including Lubitz himself.
His grandmother Marianne told the Mirror he had dreamt of becoming a pilot as a young boy - and how she cannot bear to watch news of his death in the crash on televison.
She said: “My grandson is dead and all because of an idiot who did this to his whole flight and killed so many people.
“I just cannot understand it. How could he do this?”
Mrs Sondenheim, who is in her 70’s, said Patrick was determined to become an airline captain, even as a schoolboy.
She added: “He was just 34 years old, he went off to be educated so he could follow his dream.
“Now this - I cannot bring myself to watch the news any more, it is too much to bear.
“A young man is dead with so many others.”
Last night it emerged Andreas Lubitz used the computer sign on "Skydevil" as he repeatedly searched information on cockpit security and manic depression.
His username was in English and may have been a reference to the 1932 film called Sky Devils, starring Spencer Tracy.
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