Everyone is assuming Lubitz had a mental condition

[B2G]

It could just as easily have been physical.

Brain tumors can do drastic things to your thinking and personality.

Just speculating...like everyone else.

[Kalidurga]

1. That is true

a lot of physical problems mess people's thinking up. There are very few conditions that are mental only.

[MANative]

2. CNN reported on air a short while ago that the clinic in which he was treated...

issued a statement today saying unequivocally that he was NOT treated for depression. They did not disclose what ailment he was treated for.

[Daemonaquila]

4. Which doesn't mean he wasn't being treated for mental illness.

Lots of stuff isn't "depression."

[MANative]

7. Of course. So much of the speculation, though, specifically pointed to depression.

My brother is a psychiatrist. I'm well-acquainted with the range, and I apologize for not making that distinction clear in my post.

[Daemonaquila]

3. But unlikely.

Given his history and a slew of torn up doctor's notes that would've excused him from work because of mental issues, the fact that he was hiding his mental health treatment from the airline, and similar life issues that caused the earlier bout of depression that sidelined him from his training several years ago, I'm going to give the mental condition theory a lot of weight.

[fizzgig]

5. "mental" illnesses are physical conditions

let's get that straight.

[B2G]

6. Fine

But I think you know what I meant.

[cali]

8. He had a history n/t

[B2G]

9. Yes, but that doesn't eliminate other things

It just strikes me that the Germans keep emphasizing the MEDICAL aspect of the notes and the treatments.

It's possible that he was diagnosed with a severe physical ailment that triggered his past psychological problems.

[librarylu]

10. Or it could have been.....

.....a loss of pressure in the cockpit. The plane was worked on the day before.

This was posted on Facebook by Gilbert Wesley Purdy:

"Important Germanwings crash clue: the plane had *just* ascended rapidly to 38,000 feet when the Captain decided to go to use the john. The only reason the aircraft has ascended to this unusually high altitude is because it was going to fly over the Alps. The plane does not necessarily begin to rapidly descend, then, because he has nefariously been gotten out of the cockpit. It can have begun to descend because at 38,000 the pressurization system received a demand that it was not able provide at the upper end of its design altitude. The Captain steps out, a small hole opens up beneath the cockpit. The pressure system struggles but keeps up general cabin pressure as ordered. In the immediate area of the leak, though, its effort is wasted. The co-pilot realizes there is a problem as he struggles to think. Somehow, from his oxygen-deprived perspective, the entire cabin has lost pressure but the oxygen masks have not deployed. The co-pilot struggles, as he is losing consciousness, to get the plane to an altitude at which breathing is possible for passengers and crew. He orders the descent but loses consciousness and the Captain cannot enter the cockpit door to countermand the co-pilot's order to the computer because the pressure difference across the cockpit door makes it impossible to open."

https://www.facebook.com/gilbert.purdy

Let's not rush to judgement.

[B2G]

11. No.

This is pure fiction.

[former9thward]

14. No it could not.

The switch to lock out the door from the keycode had been activated. The co-pilot would have to physically do that.

[riderinthestorm]

12. I'm thinking the clinic is going to have to release info on Lubitz' medical condition(s?)

The airlines are going to need to know for future scenarios.

Its not like keeping this a secret anymore is protecting Lubitz. The guy is dead. Knowing what was wrong will only help in preventing future problems.

[B2G]

13. Yep, they don't have a choice. nt