If there was one person who could shed light on the claims that German co-pilot Andreas Lubitz has a mental illness, it would be his last former girlfriend. According to a report, the young pilot suspected to have deliberately brought down flight 4U 9524 had been thinking of such since 2014.

“When I heard about the crash, there was just a tape playing in my head of what he said, ‘One day I will do something that will change the system and everyone will then know my name and remember me.’” she was quoted by the German newspaper Bild. The German newspaper didn’t reveal her identity. “I did not know what he meant by that at the time, but now it’s clear.”

She claimed Lubitz would have nightmares, often waking up from them while screaming “We’re going down!” Eventually, his erratic behaviour became an irritant that the woman could no longer tolerate. She broke off with him. The failed relationship all the more fuelled the already depressed 27-year-old co-pilot. The Bild report mentions Lubitz had even already bought two matching Audis, the one of which he had planned to give to the woman.

The Bild report, along with the ex-girlfriend’s revelations, came after police claimed they have made a "significant discovery" at his home that could help explain his alleged involvement in the downing of Germanwings flight 4U 9524. They clarified it was not a suicide note. "We have found something which will now be taken for tests,” Markus Niesczery of Düsseldorf Police said. "We cannot say what it is at the moment but it may be very significant clue to what has happened."

Reports claimed what the police found were documents pointing to “an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment,” Ralf Herrenbrueck, a spokesman for the Dusseldorf prosecutors’ office, said in a statement. He said they discovered ripped-up sick notes issued to Lubitz by doctors, which in turn he needed to show to his employers so he can take the day off from work. The documents, Herrenbrueck said, “support the current preliminary assessment that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and colleagues.”

Prosecutors stopped short of specifying the type of illness Lubitz may have, if it is mental or physical. German media, however, alleged the young co-pilot suffers from depression.

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