Lufthansa: No Need to Report Pilot Info

Lufthansa said Monday that it was not required to inform German aviation authorities about Andreas Lubitz’s former depression because he qualified as a pilot before stricter reporting rules went into effect in 2013. Lubitz, a co-pilot at Lufthansa’s budget division Germanwings, is believed to have deliberately crashed a plane into the French Alps and killed 150 people. The question of what Lufthansa knew about any psychiatric problems may be a factor in its liability in the crash. Germany’s Allianz estimates that insurers will end up paying $300 million in claims and costs related to the crash. Lubitz broke off pilot training for several months in 2009. When he resumed his training, he told the Lufthansa pilot instructors by email he had overcome a period of severe depression. He was first certified to fly commercial planes in 2012.