German air safety body investigated over lapses before crash

Germany's air safety authority had been investigated for shortcomings in the way it handled medical matters, and was unaware of the Germanwings co-pilot's history of depression before last month's fatal crash, it has emerged. 

Almost two weeks after Andreas Lubitz is alleged to have deliberately crashed an airliner into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board, potential systemic issues related to pilot health remain a key focus of inquiries. 

The European Aviation Safety Agency said on Sunday that its regular inspections of Germany's aviation authority, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA), had turned up more than 10 lapses in recent years related to "aeromedical" issues. This prompted the European Commission "to further investigate and ask Germany at the end of 2014 to explain the non-conformities", said an EASA spokesman.

The European agency declined to comment on its findings, saying they were confidential. However, a source familiar with the inspections said: "Low staffing is still clearly an issue [at the LBA] as well as access to medical records of crew."

The Wall Street Journal reported the EASA's concerns this weekend.

The LBA's response to the EASA's findings are now being assessed. In 2011, the European Commission complained about weaknesses in German oversight of air carriers, which it attributed to "insufficient numbers of qualified personnel within the LBA".

However, Germany's transport ministry said on Sunday that the number of permanent employees at the LBA had been "continually increased". 

The LBA said the EASA's audits had turned up a single-digit number of "findings", and described the assessments as an "ongoing process and normal procedure". 

A commission spokesman said such findings were a "normal and regular occurrence", adding: "It is part of a continuous system of oversight. Findings are followed by corrective action, similar to an audit process."

Meanwhile, the LBA revealed on Sunday that it had learnt about Lubitz's medical background only when it asked Lufthansa's aeromedical centre for access to the files three days after the March 24 crash.

Following a break in Lubitz's training, Lufthansa's doctors examined him in 2009 and confirmed that he was fit to fly. Lufthansa passed that confirmation to the LBA, but its doctors did not forward information related to Lubitz's severe depressive episode, the LBA said. 

Lubitz told Lufthansa's pilot training school in 2009 that he had previously suffered from an episode of severe depression. 

Lufthansa said it had fulfilled its obligations to provided information to the LBA and its actions corresponded with the law. The German airline previously said Lubitz had passed a series of health checks and was "100 per cent fit to fly". 

German authorities will set up an expert group to try to learn lessons from the disaster, including reviewing issues such as cockpit-door procedures, as well as medical and psychological checks on pilots.

Additional reporting by Christian Oliver in Brussels

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