Andreas Lubitz
Andreas LubitzFacebook

A new footage of Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz from almost 10 years ago has surfaced online, in which he is seen "smiling and laughing" while learning to fly a glider.

The Germanwings co-pilot, who deliberately crashed the Airbus A320 and killed the 150 people onboard, was just 18 years old when the video was shot. 

The clip, obtained by Reuters, showed that the 28-year-old was passionate about flying from a young age and had dreamt of becoming a captain of a jumbo jet later in life.

Meanwhile, it is being reported that Lubitz was concerned he was losing his eyesight, possibly because of a detached retina, and his vision was already restricted to 30 per cent.

It has emerged that months before the Airbus 320 tragedy, fearing he would go blind, the co-pilot had met several doctors at the University clinic in Dusseldorf. Even though Lubitz had no such "grave" ailment, he reportedly convinced himself he had an eye condition due to which he could lose his job, ending his dream of flying jumbo jets.

Investigators trying to piece together on what really drove the Germanwings pilot to take such a drastic step, found that Lubitz had undergone psychotherapy years ago because of suicidal tendencies coupled with violent episodes.

The German prosecutor in charge said Lubitz had undergone treatment for this before obtaining his commercial pilot license.