Mad, sad or bad: The psychology of murder-suicide

There are far more depressed people and probably far more suicides than murder-suicides, I am thinking. That says to me that this belongs in the realm of criminology and not psychology.

A ripped up note was found in his apartment from a doctor excusing him from working the day of the crash. There was also evidence he had been excused for a month during his pilot training to be treated for depression. Did the doctors treating him for a psychiatric condition notify the authorities that he was unfit to fly, and if not, why not? If this man was mentally ill and doctors knew of his condition and failed to have his licence suspended, then their negligence contributed to this tragedy. His employer and fellow employees also had a responsibility to be mindful of his fitness for duty. It is most unlikely that this just happened out of the blue!

The theory that a mental illness such as depression had affected the co-pilot was suggested by German media, quoting internal aviation authority documents.

That is a quote from the media. Lubitz had been hiding the facts about his illness, but authorities were aware of the man's history. Anyone could come to the conclusion they should never have allowed this man to pilot a passenger plane.

Passenger plane "murder-suicides" are extremely rare, so they are less worrying than random "traffic accidents" caused by suicidal drivers which, I suspect, are not at all uncommon.

If this man was mentally ill and doctors knew of his condition and failed to have his licence suspended, then their negligence contributed to this tragedy.

It's negligence if the doctors are bound by law to disclose it. Otherwise, doctor-patient confidentiality is the law. If people want to change it, then change the law.