The co-pilot of the Germanwings flight that crashed into the French Alps last week was treated for suicidal tendencies years ago but had shown no signs of being a danger to others, German prosecutors said Monday.

Christoph Kumpa, spokesman for Düsseldorf prosecutors, said Andreas Lubitz, 27, had received psychotherapy several years before obtaining his pilot's license. No suicide note was found nor any documentation that would provide a motive for Lubitz to crash the Airbus A320 into the steep ravine Tuesday, he said.

Kumpa did say physicians had found Lubitz unfit to fly in recent months, though it was not clear why. Kumpa said Lubitz had displayed no suicidal tendencies nor aggressive behavior and had no apparent physical illness.

Lubitz apparently tore up the notes from physicians excusing him from work, including one for March 24, the day of the crash. Kumpa said the information was never forwarded to Germanwings or its parent airline, Lufthansa.

"At no point ever did we know he was sick," Lufthansa spokesman Wolfgang Weber told USA TODAY. "The captain was also 100% fit. We would never let anyone fly if they weren't. We can't. If a pilot is sick in any way, they have no valid license."

French and German investigators say Lubitz deliberately crashed the Düsseldorf-bound Flight 9525 into the French Alps less than an hour after departing Barcelona on Tuesday, killing himself and the other 149 people on board.

The plane's voice recorder indicates that when pilot Patrick Sonderheimer left Lubitz alone in the cockpit, Lubitz almost immediately began an unscheduled descent. Minutes later, Sonderheimer is heard frantically banging on the cockpit door, screaming "For God's sake, open the door!," in an ill-fated effort to gain entry and take back control of the plane.

Minutes later, the plane crashed. U.S. aviation regulations require that more than one person always be in the cockpit. Since the crash, several airlines and nations have adopted similar requirements.

The German newspaper Die Welt previously reported that Lubitz was suffering from a "psychosomatic" illness and that investigators found prescription medication in his Düsseldorf apartment. Other German media reported that Lubitz apparently suffered from depression.

According to the German publication Bild, Lubitz was being treated for vision problems that he feared could jeopardize his career. But Kumpa said there was no documentation of any vision problem.

Report: Co-pilot persuaded captain to leave cockpit

The co-pilot of the doomed Germanwings flight repeatedly suggested that the captain leave the cockpit, then locked him out and stymied his desperate efforts to return, according to data recorder transcripts reported Sunday.

French and German investigators say Lubitz, 27, deliberately crashed the Düsseldorf-bound jet into the French Alps less than an hour after departing Barcelona on Tuesday, killing himself and the other 149 people on board.

In Rome, Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims after Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square.

The transcript in Bild, translated by London's Daily Mail, describes a tranquil cockpit after takeoff where Lubitz suggested Sondheimer go to the toilet, noting that Sondheimer had not done so in Barcelona. About 20 minutes later, Lubitz says, "You can go now."

Two minutes later the pilot says, "You can take over," and apparently leaves the cockpit. The plane begins its descent almost immediately at 10:29 a.m. local time.

Within minutes, Bild describes a loud bang as someone attempts to enter the cockpit, then Sondheimer yells, "For God's sake, open the door!" Passengers are heard screaming.

At 10:35 a.m., more banging, and less than two minutes later the pilot is heard yelling, "Open the goddam door!"

At 10:40 a.m., the right wing of the jet clips a mountain and the last sounds are those of passengers screaming, Bild reports.

Dozens of amateur pilots used airplanes for suicide

At least 44 private pilots in the U.S. have committed suicide in the past 30 years by deliberately crashing their small airplanes, sometimes in dramatic fashion, federal crash reports show.

The most notable airplane suicide occurred five years ago in Austin when a local pilot apparently angry at the government flew his Piper Cherokee into an Internal Revenue Service office building, killing an IRS worker and igniting a massive fire.

The only other suicide-flight killing more than one person occurred in Indiana in 2007 when a man killed himself and his 8-year-old daughter by flying a rented Cessna into the house of his ex-wife's mother. Pilot Eric Johnson had been in a child custody dispute with his ex-wife, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. (Source: USA Today)

Story Date: March 31, 2015