Germanwings crash: Andreas Lubitz has been 'framed' claim pals, as new pictures show killer pilot as smiling schoolboy
18:08, 31 March 2015
By Jeremy Armstrong , Andy Commins
Supporters have been posting alternative theories on Facebook page and say Lubitz is the victim of a 'witch hunt'
Andy Commins / Daily Mirror Andreas Lubitz
Well-liked: New pictures show Andreas Lubitz as a teenager, dressing up alongside friends
Hometown supporters of Andreas Lubitz claim the killer pilot has been 'framed' over the French Alps plane crash which left 150 people dead.
Investigators believe Lubitz, co-pilot on the Germanwings Airbus 320, set the plane on a collision course with the mountain where it crashed, killing everyone on board.
But ex-schoolfriends have set up a Facebook campaign - which now has 4,000 likes - decrying the 'witch hunt' against him.
It comes as new pictures emerged of Lubitz growing up in Montabaur, the rural backwater of 12,500 inhabitants in Rheinland, south west Germany.
Taken from his Mon Tabor high school year books, the previously unseen photos show a tubby, happy 12-year-old in 1999.
Andy Commins / Daily Mirror Andreas Lubitz
In his final year, aged 18, he is dressed as moose with giant antlers, larking around for the camera.
His supporters claim the official account of his killing all 149 passengers and crew on board is an 'cover-up'.
One supporter, who claims to be a former classmate, said: 'I believe in the innocence of Andi!'
Others point out the second black box data recorder had not yet been recovered from the crash site, which they claim was also proof of a cover-up.
Clues: Mons-Tabor-Gymnasium, the school that Andreas Lubitz attended
Many in Lubitz' hometown are still struggling to believe the official version of events.
Wolfgang Michales, 50, a designer, who lives close to the family home he shared with dad Gunter, mum Urusula and younger brother, said: "I feel for his parents.
"First they learn they have lost their son, then this. How could the authorities be so sure?"
And the pilot's devastated girlfriend has told police she knew he was being treated for mental illness - but thought he would work it out.
First footage of Andreas Lubitz shows Germanwings co-pilot learning to fly
Maths teacher Kathrin Goldbach, 26, has been interviewed by investigators trying to understand why Lubitz would have committed mass murder.
She spoke for the first time of his behaviour before the tragedy, but admitted she "did not know the full extent of the problems".
And she believed they 'were working through the issues together' as she knew two doctors were treating him.
"They were optimistic they could solve the problems," said the insider.
"She was just as shocked as everyone by what he did."
Kathrin, who is believed to be pregnant, is now at a secret location, supported by Dusseldorf police.
Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande has reassured families that the 150 victims will be identified by the end of the week.
Rescuers had warned identifying all those on board could take several months.
But Mr Hollande said: "The French interior minister confirmed that by the end of the week at the latest it will be possible to identify all of the victims thanks to DNA samples."
None of the victims were found due to the 430mph impact, but different strands of DNA have been identified at the site.
