Focusing on the actual issue of the tragedy, the WsJ writes (Updated March 27, 2015 6:55 p.m. ET):
The person familiar with the investigation said Mr. Lubitz was undergoing treatment for depression elsewhere in the Rhineland area of western Germany.
Under German privacy laws, a doctor isn’t required to inform the patient’s employer about any illness, nor should the note excusing him or her from work include any information about the patient’s condition.
However, Hans-Peter Hartung, the head of University Hospital’s department of neurology, said doctors in Germany could choose to inform the police or a patient’s employer if the condition seemed like it could pose risks for others. “We are entitled under the balance of risks, and if there are looming problems, to breach medical confidentiality,” he said.
But Jochen Lamp, spokesman for the German association of psychiatrists, said only very unusual circumstances would prompt a psychiatrist to breach a patient’s confidentiality, as the legal consequences of such a move can be severe.
U.S. pilots are required to tell the Federal Aviation Administration about all prescription medications, substance abuse, drunken-driving arrests, mental disorders and suicide attempts. As part of an effort to prod pilots to deal more forthrightly with mental health issues, the FAA a few years ago reversed course and allowed airline pilots to take certain antidepressant drugs while staying on the job.
At the time, the FAA chief said “we have to acknowledge that depression is not uncommon and pilots need to be allowed to get help without the fear of losing their pilot’s certificate.”
Europe also relies on pilots to self-report psychological problems not caught by the airline.
James Fraser, the FAA’s top medical officer, spelled out the industry’s dilemma at a pilot-safety conference in Washington in August 2014.
In cases of “psychotic events in the cockpit or [when] a pilot or first officer has been walked out of a cockpit,” he told the audience, questions inevitably follow about why the FAA didn’t prevent it. Some critics even call for a thorough psychiatric evaluation or every pilot at each periodic medical exam, he said, but “that’s not a solution.”
In the end, Dr. Fraser said, “the solution lies in self-assessment, not in any kind of regular psychiatric assessment.”
He emphasized that the FAA depends on pilots “to be honest and forthright” answering questions about issues such as “prior hospitalizations and mental disorders and things of that nature,” while recognizing that psychiatric problems sometimes can emerge suddenly.
Mr. Lubitz’s medical certificate was last renewed in July 2014. The certificate, which is required for a pilot license, is updated annually. Germany’s Federal Aviation Office said Friday that his certificate showed he had an unspecified medical condition requiring regular checks. A spokesman for the agency said whether the record related to mental or physical health was confidential information.
Another person familiar with the matter said Mr. Lubitz didn’t have a terminal illness.
Germanwings Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz Concealed Depression From Airline - WSJ