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KILLER co-pilot Andreas Lubitz battled depression while training to fly planes, it was revealed last night.

The 28-year-old fitness fanatic, who “deliberately” flew the Airbus 320 into the Alps on Tuesday, killing 149 people, told friends at the time he was trying to cope with the condition.

But those who knew him said he suffered a “burn-out” six years ago.

Astonishing details emerged yesterday of the terrifying last few minutes of doomed Germanwings flight 4U 9525.

Investigators listened to audio from the aircraft’s black box recorder, which revealed that captain Patrick Sonderheimer left the cockpit and was then locked out by Lubitz.

Passengers were seemingly unaware of the drama unfolding and only started screaming seconds before the plane hit the mountainside at 430mph.

Germanwings disaster: Live updates as investigators into French Alps disaster continues

In another shocking twist, Lubitz’s parents only learnt he was responsible for the crash as they sat in a room near the crash scene in Seyne-les-Alpes.

Last night, German police sealed off their detached house at Montabaur in Germany’s Rhineland, and were examining computers as they searched for clues to what pushed Lubitz over the edge.

The mother of one of his school friends said Lubitz had taken a break from pilot training because he was suffering from depression. She said: “Apparently he had a burn-out, he was in depression.”

Carsten Spohr, boss of Germanwings’ parent company Lufthansa, confirmed that Lubitz “took a break in his training six years ago”.

He added: “Then he did the tests – technical and psychological – again. He was deemed 100 per cent fit to fly. I am not able to state the reasons why he took the break for several months.”

Spohr said all pilots undergo annual medical checks but no special psychiatric assessments beyond training. He added: “If one person takes 149 people with him to death, it is not suicide.”

Lubitz’s Facebook page said his interests included his local Burger King, 10-pin bowling and aviation humour.

(Image: Reuters)

He started as cabin crew with Lufthansa before becoming a pilot.

Peter Ruecker, a member of a glider club who watched Lubitz learn to fly as a teen, said: “He was happy he had the job with Germanwings and was doing well.”

He described the co-pilot as a “rather quiet” but friendly young man.

French prosecutor Brice Robin revealed that investigators had listened to audio on the black box.

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He said: “When you commit suicide, you normally do it by yourself. When you have 150 people with you, you wouldn’t normally call it suicide. His intent was to destroy the plane.

“On the recording, you hear the screams only on the last moments and nothing else.”

He added: “In the first 20 minutes of the flight, the pilots talk in a normal fashion. Then we hear the command asking the co-pilot to take over. We hear the sound of a door closing so we assume he went to the toilet or something.

“The co-pilot, at that moment, is on his own and uses the flight monitoring system which starts the descent of the aeroplane. This action can only be done voluntarily. We hear the pilot asking to access the cockpit but there’s no answer.

(Image: Getty)

“He knocks on the door and has no response. The tower ask them to do a distress signal but again there is no response. Other planes try to contact this Airbus and no answer is forthcoming.

“Alarm systems indicate to all those on board the proximity of the ground then we hear noises of the door trying to be broken into. This is the cockpit door, which, according to international

measures, is reinforced.

“There was no distress signal, no mayday signal received by the control tower. No answer was received despite the numerous calls from the tower.

“At this stage, nothing indicates a terrorist attack. We will see how this investigation progresses.”

Hundreds of victims’ relatives arrived in Seyne-les-Alpes yesterday, mostly from Spain. At least 51 of the victims were Spaniards and at least 72 were German.

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