Pilots Who Attempted Suicide 

1

Andreas Lubitz - Germanwings Flight 9525 (2015)

As of this writing, the story behind the Germanwings crash in the French Alps on March 24, 2015 is still being played out. What we know so far: 

Flight 9525, an Airbus A320, took off at 10:01 a.m. from Barcelona, bound for Dusseldorf. The plane had 144 passengers and six crew members on board. All were killed in the crash. The plane began descending from its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet at 10:31 a.m. It lost contact with French radar at an altitude of 6,175 feet at 10:40 a.m.

Transponder data shows that the autopilot was reprogrammed by someone inside the cockpit to change the plane's altitude from 38,000 feet to 100 feet. Attention has focused on the 27-year-old co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, who appeared to have locked the pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the plane. 

The voice transcript from the flight, which has been published by German tabloid Bild, reveals how Lubitz encouraged Captain Patrick Sondenheimer to go to the toilet before locking him out of the cockpit. After completing mid-flight checks, Lubitz told the captain: “You can go now," after Sondenheimer had previously said he had not had time to go the toilet before leaving Barcelona. The captain leaves the cockpit saying: “You can take over."

Soon after there is a loud bang, followed by the captain shouting: “For God's sake open the door!” There are then repeated bangs, believed to be from a crowbar or ax against the door. The plane continues descending as an automated warning says, “Terrain, pull up.” The pilot continues shouting: “Open the damn door!” In the final moments, the aircraft's right wing clips a mountain while the passengers scream.

While there is yet no motive behind Lubitz' actions, German investigators said he hid evidence of illness from his employers, including a sick note that was found torn up inside his apartment in Dusseldorf dated from the day of the crash. He was also said to be concerned his deteriorating vision could see him lose his pilot's license and was suffering from burnout and depression. Medical records also reveal that Lubitz was suicidal and underwent psychotherapy before he ever got his pilot's license. 

Lubitz passed his annual pilot recertification medical examination in summer 2014. An official with Lufthansa, which owns Germanwings, said that the exam only tests physical health, not psychological health. (Source)

2

Gamil el Batouty - EgyptAir Flight 990 (1991)

There is still some speculation between governments (Egyptian and U.S.) as to what exactly happened when EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed into international waters on October 31, 1999, killing 218 people. A subsequent investigation by the American National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the cause of the crash had been a deliberate act by the relief first officer, but an Egyptian inquest into the incident found that the crash had been caused by mechanical failure.

One of the two pilots on the flight, Gamil el Batouty, assumed sole control of the plane shortly before directing the 767 into a 40 degree dive, the NTSB said after it finished its investigation into the incident. 

Also, according to analysis of the plane's voice recorder, when the other pilot, Captain el Habashy, returned to the cockpit he desperately tried to reverse the jet's descent, but el Batouty thwarted his colleague's efforts to save the plane by shutting down its engines. 

On a garbled tape recovered from the crash, el Batouty seemed to declare, "I place my fate in the hands of God" several times before shutting off the plane's engines. (According to some news sources, el Batouty instead stated,"I rely on God.") 

The NTSB later leaked its conclusion that el Batouty most likely committed suicide, taking all 217 passengers on board with him.

Of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority's findings, aviation journalist William Langewiesche said, "Whereas in the case of the Egyptians, they were following a completely different line of thinking. It seemed to me that they knew very well that their man, Batouti, had done this. They were pursuing a political agenda that was driven by the need to answer to their higher-ups in a very pyramidal, autocratic political structure. The word had been passed down from on high, probably from Mubarak himself, that there was no way that Batouti, the co-pilot, could have done this. For the accident investigators in Egypt, the game then became not pursuing the truth but backing the official line.