A year after the Germanwings plane crash, Germany's lower
legislative house has passed a set of measures to tighten up reporting
of pilot medical assessments.
Crash site of the Germanwings plane.(Reactor Breach)
Germanwings pilot
Andreas Lubitz killed 150 passengers and crew when he locked his captain
out of the cockpit and deliberately steered his jet into the French
Alps on March 24, 2015.
Investigations
showed he had a history of mental illness and had concealed this from
his employer in the months leading up to the crash. Lubitz was taking anti-depressants and sleeping medication at the time of the crash, investigators said.
Alongside
random spot checks on pilots for drugs and alcohol, the new law will
involve a medical database being set up to allow for easier reference
for aeromedical specialists of pilot medical assessments, and tougher
alcohol and drugs checks shall be run on pilots.
The law was passed a day after families of around 80 of those killed in the crash filed a suit against Lufthansa's flight training school in the United States, alleging the school was negligent in its screening of Lubitz.
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