We are unlikely to ever know what was going through the mind of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz on the day he decided to bolt the cockpit door of the Germanwings passenger plane which he then deliberately crashed into a rocky ravine in the Alps, killing all 149 people on board.
A torn up sick-note, suggestions that he was recently jilted by his girl-friend and previous treatment for depression have all been used to suggest that this was a wanton act of a deranged madman intent on suicide and mass murder.
However, psychiatrists were quick to point out today that depression is a relatively common condition affecting one in six people in the UK, and yet cases of “murder suicide” are incredibly rare, especially outside of the arena of religious fanaticism.
Paul Keedwell, a consultant psychiatrist at Cardiff University and a specialist in mood disorders, says that only about two or three people in every million each year carry out murder while committing suicide, and most of these cases are men who end up killing their wives or partners.
Germanwings plane crash Murder-suicide cannot be explained as depression say experts - Europe - World - The Independent