Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz 'spiked pilot's drink with diuretic to make him leave cockpit'

Andreas Lubitz 'spiked captain's drink with diuretic' on Germanwings plane

Reports have emerged that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz may have put diuretic drugs in the captain's drink during the doomed Flight 4U9525, which crashed into the French Alps killing all 150 people on board.

Diuretics are substances that increase the need to urinate, and it is believed Lubitz searched the internet for them before the flight took place.

It is currently suspected that Lubitz locked captain Patrick Sondenheim, 36, out of the cockpit area after he went to the toilet, before proceeding to deliberately accelerate the aircraft into a mountainside on 24 March.

According to the Expressand the Mirror, the latest information about his internet search came directly from his computer, which was seized by Dusseldorf prosecutors last month.

It has led to speculation that he may have used a diuretic in his captain's drink to ensure he left the cockpit.

Investigators have also found that Lubitz searched ways to kill himself just 24 hours before the crash.

It is thought he suffered with depression and anxiety disorders, and it is alleged that he told doctors he was on sick leave, despite the fact that he continued to fly passenger planes.

Captain Sondenheim was a father of two young children. It has been reported that he behaved like a hero on the flight, trying frantically to break back into the cockpit. At one point, he can be heard shouting: "For God's sake, open the door."

A memorial to commemorate all the lives lost on the flight will take place on 17 April at the Cologne Cathedral.