Germanwings Co-Pilot, Andreas Lubitz: Suicide or  'Manchurian Candidate'? (Updated)

One of the Americans who died in the crash, Yvonne Selke, was a Booz Allen Hamilton employee who was working on a $315 million project for the Pentagon, according to a March 2013 press release. "Booz Allen and our employees are mourning the sudden and shocking death of Yvonne Selke, an employee of nearly 23 years, and her daughter, Emily," Betty Thompson, Booz Allen executive vice president, said in a statement. The AP reported that Selke was a “longtime and highly regarded employee.” The AP said that she worked in the Pentagon on the company’s contract with the National Geospaital-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes imagery from spy planes and satellites.

Andreas Lubitz received psychiatric treatment for a "serious depressive episode" in 2009, German tabloid Bild reported. Citing internal documents and Lufthansa sources, Bild said Lubitz spent a total of 18 months in psychiatric treatment. Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr told a news conference that Lubitz had taken a break during his training six years ago, but did not explain why and said he had passed all tests and was “100 percent” fit to fly. "Six years ago there was a lengthy interruption in his training. After he was cleared again, he resumed training. He passed all the subsequent tests and checks with flying colors. His flying abilities were flawless." [Source]

German reporters found Lubitz’s former classmates, who said he took a six-month break from training due to “burnout-syndrome” or “depression.” Bild claims it got access to Lubitz’s profile, indicating the pilot had “psychological problems” and required a “special, exemplary regular medical examination.” Bild also cites sources familiar with the investigation, saying that Lubitz suffered from a “personal life crisis,” following a recent breakup with a girlfriend. [Source]

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had issued Lubitz a third-class medical certificate. In order to obtain such a certificate, a pilot must be cleared of psychological problems including psychosis, bipolar disorder and personality disorders. The certificate also means that he wasn't found to be suffering from another mental health condition that "makes the person unable to safely perform the duties or exercise the privileges" of a pilot's license. [Source]

While incredibly rare for a pilot to kill himself — and everyone else on a plane — there is both national and international precedent for what experts call “aircraft-assisted pilot suicides.” According to Federal Aviation Administration data, 24 American pilots have killed themselves while flying their planes in the last two decades. Twenty-three of those pilots intentionally crashed their craft, and one student pilot jumped out of his plane mid-flight. All of the pilots who killed themselves were male and middle-aged. While none of of the American pilots who killed themselves were flying a big commercial aircraft, it has happened elsewhere.

In November 2013, a Mozambique Airlines E-190 jet carrying 33 passengers went down in Namibia under similar circumstances to the Germanwings' crash. No one survived the crash, which became the subject of great mystery because the plane was only one year old, flown by an experienced pilot, in good weather. The Washington Post reported on the crash of E-190:

According to cockpit voice recordings reported by the International Business Times, the co-pilot left to use the bathroom, and when he returned, he found the door shut. Inside, the pilot had switched the plane’s altitude reading from 38,000 feet to ground level. Recordings show someone pounded on the door to the cockpit as the plane plummeted. Investigators later concluded the plane had crashed because of “intentional actions by the pilot.”


Parts of a Mozambique Airlines plane that crashed in the Bwabwata National Park, Namibia, in November 2013.

Suicide or 'Manchurian Candidate?' | Germanwings Co-Pilot, Andreas Lubitz, Deliberately Crashed Plane, Prosecutor Says

March 26, 2015

Stillness In The Storm - The Mainstream media is reporting that the copilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately brought the plane down, but they are not saying suicide out right.

Its a logical inference to make, either Lubitz committed suicide or had another motivation for deliberately crashing the plane; revenge or terror attack. Or, he was not aware of the events in a conscious sense, he was being manipulated; a Manchurian Candidate.

Given the available evidence, which is more likely?

Suicide

Lubitz should have shown suicidal tendencies before hand, yet we are not hearing any reports about this from the media. In fact, those who have come forward say he was acting normally. Again, given the extreme nature of his death, it's likely some type of odd behavior would have been observed by his co-workers and family.

Suicidal people usually (emphasis on usually) express the following traits:

• Always talking or thinking about death
• Clinical depression -- deep sadness, loss of interest, trouble sleeping and eating -- that gets worse
• Having a "death wish," tempting fate by taking risks that could lead to death, such as driving fast or running red lights
• Losing interest in things one used to care about
• Making comments about being hopeless, helpless, or worthless
• Putting affairs in order, tying up loose ends, changing a will
• Saying things like "it would be better if I wasn't here" or "I want out"
• Sudden, unexpected switch from being very sad to being very calm or appearing to be happy
• Talking about suicide or killing one's self
• Visiting or calling people to say goodbye

At this point in the investigation, there are no witnesses that have come forward to testify as to the distraught state of Lubitz. 

He didn't just kill himself, he killed 144 other passengers and 5 crew members, that is 150 people. This act of extreme violence suggests he was trying exact revenge or make some grand display with his suicide. But if this was the case, there should be a note, or something which brings his cause to light, yet there is nothing. He doesn't say anything during his "8 minutes on stage," while the plane is descending. All this suggests suicide was not his motivation.

Terror Attack or Revenge

Assuming that there were not suicidal indicators, then one would conclude another motivation. Was he trying to send a message to the public or a person? Was he trying to make someone pay?

Again, when looking at the evidence, we see no indications of this. No note, no manifesto. He did not scream revenge during the 8 minutes of descent. His last words were laconic, as the investigator describes. All this suggests terrorism or revenge was not his motivation.

Manchurian Candidate

The Investigator reported that Lubtiz could be heard breathing normally during the entire event. While the commanding pilot was trying to smash the door down and the plane was descending:

“During the first 20 minutes, the pilots talk normally,” Mr. Robin said, saying they spoke in a “cheerful” and “courteous” way. “There is nothing abnormal happening,” he said.

The prosecutor said the transcript showed that the captain was preparing a briefing for landing in Düsseldorf. The co-pilot’s answer, the prosecutor said, was “laconic.” [using few words]

The commanding pilot then asks the co-pilot to take over, and the noise of a seat backing up and a door closing can be heard.

“At this stage, the co-pilot is in control, alone,” the prosecutor said. “It is when he is alone that the co-pilot manipulates the flight monitoring system to activate the descent of the plane.” The prosecutor said that this action could only have been “voluntary.”

The control the co-pilot activated requires several turns, Mr. Robin said, and it could not have been turned to such a low altitude accidentally.The captain is heard pleading to get back into the cockpit, but the co-pilot, heard breathing normally until the plane crashes, does not react, Mr. Robin said.

“You can hear the commanding pilot ask for access to the cockpit several times,” the prosecutor said. “He identifies himself, but the co-pilot does not provide any answer.”

“You can hear human breathing in the cockpit up until the moment of impact,” he said, adding that the breathing did not indicate any health problem such as a heart attack.

Given the calm state of Lubitz during the entire event, and that the other pilot was completely surprised by his behavior, it suggest that Lubitz was either a psychopathic or sociopathic individual, or that he was in some type of altered state. The lack of odd behavior observed rules out a psychopathic motive.

Possibly the influence of drugs or hypnosis was at work, the former potentially being revealed during investigation. 

Hypnosis is the most likely explanation given all the available data, and fits the Manchurian Candidate profile. 

He was acting normal and cheerful for most of the flight, and then seemly out of no where, he becomes laconic, using very few words. This suggests that some 'trigger' caused the altered state to take effect, at which point, his conscious mind and normal responses ceased. He does not react to anything after that, other than to carry out the suggestion, to destroy the plane.

And that is exactly what happens. While the whole plane is in hysterics, Lubitz is breathing normally: 

“You can hear human breathing in the cockpit up until the moment of impact.” And they even go as far as to say his breathing indicates no health problems, in other words he was completely normal and calm. Again this suggests a hypnotic trance of some kind.

Unsuspecting Assassins

The following excerpt is an article with CIA declassified documents confirming 'Manchurian Candidates' have been used in the past, under the name Unsuspecting Assassins. This was achieved by placing them in a hypnotic trance, usually after splitting the personality via traumatic conditioning:

Click here to read the rest of the article at Stillness In The Storm.