Germanwings crash: Andreas Lubitz quietly buried in hometown amid fierce debate over air safety controls

The occasion was poignantly marked by his local paper

How Lubitz's local paper covered his burial

The co-pilot who crashed a Germanwings flight into the French Alps killing himself and all 149 passengers on board has been given a silent burial in his hometown.

Andreas Lubitz, who crashed the Germanwings plane he was co-piloting into the French Alps in March, killing everyone aboard, was buried in his hometown of Montabaur, Germany, yesterday.

The 27-year-old’s family gathered in silence to bury his remains and the local newspaper, the Rhein-Zeitung, only covered the service with a single line.

It is as yet unclear whether his fiancée, with whom he shared a flat in Dusseldorf, was present at the private ceremony.

Lubitz's low-key burial contrasted with the public funerals of his victims, including 16 pupils and two teachers from the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium high school (Getty)

Depressed Lubitz, who had researched suicide before the crash, locked the pilot out of the Airbus A320 jet so he could crash into the mountainside on March 24.

French prosecutors have launched a criminal inquiry to investigate whether any mistakes were made in assessing the Lubitz’s mental health.

Manslaughter charges could be brought if there is evidence Lubitz’s mental health problems were not properly addressed or brought to the attention of the airline.

Lubitz had been signed off work for unspecified medical reasons on the fortnight leading up to the disaster, but officials previously said ripped up letters found at his home suggested he hid his illness from employers.

Although investigators have not confirmed what the notes said, his struggle with severe depression dated back to 2009, when he took a break of several months in his flight training.

Lubitz was treated for “suicidal tendencies” before he qualified, German officials in Dusseldorf confirmed, but more recent doctors’ visits had not uncovered a desire to kill himself or anyone else.

Evidence from the crashed plane’s black boxes suggests that Lubitz locked the cockpit door when the pilot left for a toilet break and used controls to override the entry code, downing the plane as the pilot desperately tried to break back in with a crow bar.

He sped up the aircraft’s descent as it hurtled towards the earth, investigators said, obliterating it on the slopes at 430mph as passengers screamed.

A rescue helicopter searches the crash site in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, southern France (Getty)

Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, said Lubitz informed his training school of a period of severe depression in 2009 but subsequently passed all medical and "fit to fly" tests, which have since come under scrutiny.

Germanwings’ parent company Lufthansa has told victims’ relatives to turn to the state for compensation.

A spokesman for the airline, which offered an immediate payment of €50,000 per passenger to their families, said under German law victims of violent acts have a claim on the government for compensation, including for events in German-registered aircraft.

Victims' lawyer Christof Wellens said he “could not understand” the advice and said it showed Lufthansa was clueless about helping the victims' families, including the 15 he represents.

Families may be entitled to further compensation from the airline depending on the law in their home countries.