© Reuters/Fototeam MuellerAndreas Lubitz runs the Airportrace half marathon in Hamburg in this September 13, 2009 file photo
Investigators looked into Lubitz's tablet computer searches between March 16 and 23 and discovered he was concerned about medical treatment and was studying various suicide methods, German prosecutors said on Thursday.
In the course of one day, his search queries included cockpit doors and their security measures. They added that personal correspondence and search terms on Lubitz's tablet "support the conclusion that the machine was used by the co-pilot in the relevant period."
Germanwings said on Thursday that the company had been unaware that Lubitz was suffering from depression during pilot training. Earlier this week, Germanwings parent company Lufthansa confirmed it knew Lubitz suffered from a bout of severe depression before finishing his flight training six years ago.
Also on Thursday, the French police confirmed the second black box from the plane that crashed in the French Alps last week has been found.
Based on recordings from the first black box, investigators now believe co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed the plane on March 24, killing 150 people on board.
Earlier, the German paper Bild reported that 27-year-old Lubitz deliberately concealed he was still flying commercial planes from doctors, telling them that he had taken sick leave.
Authorities are also examining cellphones found at the crash site for clues.
What Psychiatric Drugs was Germanwings Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz Taking? A List of Questions That Need to be Answered
What People Need to Know About the Latest Mass Murder (especially journalists and their editors)
Even at normal doses, taking psychiatric drugs can produce suicidal thinking, violent behavior, aggressiveness, extreme anger, hostility, irritability, loss of ability to control impulses, rage reactions, hallucinations, mania, acute psychotic episodes, akathisia, and bizarre, grandiose, highly elaborated destructive plans, including mass murder.
“Withdrawal from psychiatric drugs can cause agitation, severe depression, hallucinations, aggressiveness, hypomania, akathisia, fear, terror, panic, fear of insanity, failing self-confidence, restlessness, irritability, aggression, an urge to destroy and, in the worst cases, an urge to kill.” – From Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter # 296: “Drug Studies Connecting Psychotropic Drugs with Acts of Violence” – unpublished. ...continued