Parents of Germanwings crash co-pilot spark fury with tribute note

A NOTE of gratitude published in a newspaper by the parents of crashed Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz has sparked an incredible wave of fury from the families of victims.

‘Our anger can’t be put into words’

IT WAS intended as a simple gesture to thank loved ones who supported them during their darkest hours.

But a note of gratitude by the parents of Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who intentionally crashed a plane into the French Alps last year and killed all 150 people on board, has instead sparked a tremendous wave of hurt and fury.

Lubitz’s parents and brother posted the tribute in the German newspaper Bild on Monday to thank their friends, family, vicar and local community for supporting them after the death of their son.

“We would like to thank everyone, who supported and helped us in a year full of horror and fear, incredulity, restlessness, speechlessness, despair and grieving we had to come to terms with, to cope with this great loss and with everything that happened,” Lubitz’s parents and brother wrote.

“We have lost a lovely and valuable person,” they added, referring to Lubitz.

But the note has sparked a major row in Germany, with families of passengers killed in the suicide crash branding it disrespectful and ignorant.

Picture released on March 27, 2015 shows the co-pilot of Germanwings flight 4U9525 Andreas Lubitz taking part in the Airport Hamburg 10-mile run on September 13, 2009 in Hamburg, northern Germany. long flying enthusiast with no apparent psychological problems or terrorist links. into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, hid a serious illness from the airline, prosecutors said Friday amid reports he was severely depressed. AFP PHOTO / FOTO TEAM MUELLER ALTERNATIVE CROP RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / FOTO TEAM MUELLER " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

“We are only able to visit our murdered children at their graves. Yet, in the note of gratitude by the Lubitz family, their son is described as a valuable person. Our anger can’t be put into words at this times,” one victim’s parents told Bild through their lawyer Elmar Giemulla.

Another victim’s father was more sympathetic towards the Lubitz family but was unhappy their note failed to mention the 149 people, including an Australian mother and adult son, who were also killed in the suicide crash.

“I’m speechless about this ignorance and this lack of respect for the dead,” the father said.

People on social media were also divided over the note, with some siding with the Lubitz family.

“What is so irritating about the parents’ note of gratitude? Andreas L was ill, not evil,” one Twitter user said.

27 March 2015. Families visit the memorial in Le Vernet for the victims of the Germanwings plane crash in the mountains behind the village. Pic. Ella Pellegrini

“Don’t the parents have a right to grieve for their child? Without Bild? Parents love unconditionally. That is good,” another person said on Twitter.

French investigators believe 27-year-old co-pilot Lubitz, who had a history of severe depression, barricaded himself in the cockpit of Germanwings flight 9525 on March 24 last year and propelled the Airbus jet into a mountainside as it flew from Barcelona to Dusseldorf.

The crash killed Lubitz and all passengers and crew on board the flight.

The crash sparked calls for more research into the mental health of pilots and prompted new rules requiring two pilots to be inside the aircraft cockpit at all times.

The controversy surrounding the Lubitz family’s note comes just days after a Victorian man who lost his wife and son in the crash said he was suing a US flight school that had trained Lubitz.

Australian victims

Fairfax Media reports David Friday, whose wife Carol, 68, and son Greig, 29, were among the 150 killed, said he intended to sue Lufthansa’s Airline Training Centre Arizona for allegedly hiding and failing to act on Lubitz’s history of serious mental illness.

“They were loved and appreciated by so many people. If their loss had been due to some genuine accident it may have been easier to bear,” Mr Friday told Fairfax.

“We feel legal action against the flight school, who were aware of the pilot’s mental problems, will ensure that they never again allow a pilot with known dangerous mental problems to be licensed to pilot a passenger plane.”

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