SIR - The deliberate destruction of the passenger plane last week, with the terrible loss of life it entailed, has rightly shocked the world and, as further details emerged, brought forth more and more lurid headlines, especially from the ‘red top’ papers.

One such headline read “Madman!” when it came to light that the co-pilot may have suffered from depression.

May I reassure the public that people who suffer from this debilitating illness are not ‘mad’, nor are we any more likely to go on a killing spree than anyone else.

From my own experience, had the co-pilot been depressed the day he destroyed his aircraft, his concentration would have been so poor that even driving a golf buggy would have been beyond him.

At the risk of adding to the speculation, I suspect he may have had some sort of psychotic episode, which is a whole different thing.

But we will never know. All we can do is pity such a disturbed mind and hope never to be in the same situation.

Cathy MacKay, Bailey Hills Rd, Bingley