Pilot ‘researched cockpit doors, suicide’

France's interior ministry releases new ground video from the scene of the Germanwings passenger jet crash, recorded after earthmovers plowed a track to the crash site. Mana Rabiee reports.

Discrepancy ... German airline Lufthansa confirmed that it knew six years ago that Lubitz had suffered from an episode of "severe depression" before he finished his training. Picture: AFP Source: Supplied

GERMAN prosecutors say the co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a Germanwings plane in the French Alps had searched online for information about suicide and cockpit doors in the week before the disaster.

A tablet computer which prosecutors said was used by Andreas Lubitz was found in a search of a flat he used in Dusseldorf, the prosecutor's office in the western city said in a statement.

"The browser history wasn't erased, in particular the search terms called up on this device in the period from March 16 to March 23 were able to be retraced," it said on Thursday.

It indicated the user had been researching "medical methods of treatment", "ways to commit suicide" as well as "cockpit doors and their security provisions", it added.

Carnage ... the Gendarmerie High-Mountain Rescue Group working at the crash site of the Germanwings Flight 9525 near Le Vernet, French Alps. Picture: AFP/Yves Malenfer Source: AFP

The statement was released as the news came that the second black box from the Germanwings plane has been found after a nine-day search.

Authorities are hoping to unearth more clues about the disaster from the black box after the first voice recorder suggested that co-pilot Lubitz deliberately locked his captain out of the Airbus A320's cockpit and intentionally crashed Flight 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf into a French mountainside on March 24.

All 150 people on board the plane were killed.

Devastation ... relatives gather at a monument to honour the victims of Germanwings flight 9525 near the crash site in Le Vernet, France. Picture: Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Meanwhile, Germanwings says it was unaware that the co-pilot had suffered from depression during his pilot training.

German airline Lufthansa confirmed on Tuesday that it knew six years ago that Lubitz had suffered from an episode of "severe depression" before he finished his flight training.

"We didn't know this," said Vanessa Torres, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings, which hired Lubitz in September 2013.

She declined to explain the discrepancy, citing the ongoing investigation. Ms Torres noted that Lufthansa has said Lubitz held a "fully valid class 1 medical certificate" on the day of the crash.

The news came as Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt and the German Aviation Association, which represents German airlines, announced the creation of an expert task force to examine what went wrong in the Germanwings crash.

Evidence ... investigators said they have found mobile phones amid the crash debris but the phones haven't yet been thoroughly examined. Picture: AFP/Yves Malenfer Source: AFP

No taboos ... Andreas German prosecutors say Lubitz's medical records before he received his pilot's licence referred to 'suicidal tendencies'. Picture: Getty Source: Supplied

The panel will consider whether changes are needed to cockpit doors or pilot procedures for passing medicals and will discuss "the question of recognising psychological peculiarities," Mr Dobrindt said.

Aviation association chief Klaus-Peter Siegloch said the task force will work "very quickly" but "it is very important that we do not reach overhasty conclusions."

"We have no taboos about what the task force will discuss," said Mr Siegloch, adding that any conclusions will be shared with international air safety organisations.

France's air accident investigation agency has already said it will examine cockpit entry and psychological screening procedures.

Difficult terrain ... rescue workers continue their search operation near the site of the Germanwings plane crash in Seyne les Alpes, France. Picture: Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

German prosecutors say Lubitz's medical records from before he received his pilot's licence referred to "suicidal tendencies" but visits to doctors since then showed no record of any suicidal tendencies or aggression toward others.

The A320 is designed with safeguards to allow emergency entry into the cockpit if a pilot inside is unresponsive. But the override code known to the crew doesn't go into effect if the person inside the cockpit specifically denies entry.

At the crash scene, investigators said on Thursday they have found mobile phones amid the crash debris but the phones haven't yet been thoroughly examined.

The French magazine Paris-Match and the German tabloid Bild say they have seen a mobile phone video from the final moments of Flight 9525. Authorities have said investigators have no such video but didn't rule out the possibility that some videos like that may exist.

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