PARIS
A criminal investigation into the Germanwings crash over the French Alps in March that killed 150 people will begin next week, a French prosecutor has announced Thursday.
Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin, who spoke Thursday at a press conference in Paris, said that a criminal inquiry to determine whether the co-pilot’s psychological condition was properly monitored would start next week.
Earlier this month, the French Bureau of Investigation and Analysis, BEA, which is investigating the crash, said the Germanwings co-pilot, suspected of deliberately crashing the Airbus A320 in the French Alps, had in fact practiced rapid descent on a previous flight.
French investigators confirmed in the preliminary report that the 27-year-old co-pilot Andreas Lubitz "intentionally" crashed the airplane.
“Andreas Lubitz had great depression in the past and had seen doctors for at least 41 times over the last five years,” said prosecutor Robin, adding that the co-pilot had arranged secret doctor appointments and may had been able to use only 30 percent of his eyesight.
Last week, all 150 victims had been identified after analysis of DNA provided by relatives was completed and their burial permits had been signed.
The prosecutor stated that 30 bodies of Spanish passengers would be sent to their country Monday, while body parts which were unable to be identified would be buried in the town of Le Vernet, near the region where the crash occurred.
The air disaster in March was the first deadly crash of a Germanwings plane since the low-budget airline was founded by Lufthansa in 2002.
