Germanwings crash: German court rejects lawsuit for victims' relatives

A German court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking additional compensation for relatives of victims of the Germanwings crash that killed 150 people in 2015. 

The Braunschweig Regional Court found that relatives can pursue claims against Germwanwings but are not entitled to compensation from the German state. 

The presiding judge referred to the Montreal Convention, which governs liability in international air travel.

On March 24, 2015, a Germanwings aircraft travelling from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashed in the French Alps, killing all 144 passengers and six crew members on board. Most of the victims were from Germany and Spain.

Investigations established that the co-pilot deliberately steered the Lufthansa subsidiary's aircraft into a mountain.

Thirty relatives are seeking up to €110,000 ($124,000) from the German state. The plaintiffs argue that the co-pilot's fitness to fly was not adequately monitored at the time, and that aviation medical assessments were not sufficiently thorough with regard to possible mental illness.

However, the court had given the plaintiffs little cause for optimism when proceedings opened, warning that it considered the lawsuit to have no prospect of success, and that claimants would be better placed to pursue their claims against the airline. 

The civil case was heard against the state in Lower Saxony because the Federal Aviation Office (LBA) is based in Braunschweig.

Among the 150 people on board were 16 pupils and two teachers from a secondary school in Haltern am See, north of Essen, who were on their way back from a student exchange in Spain. The disaster caused widespread shock and grief.

After proceedings opened in Braunschweig at the end of August, Klaus Radner - who lost his daughter, a grandchild and his daughter's partner in the crash - told dpa: "I put our chances at 1%." 

Radner said he believed many organizations and individuals had failed. "And we simply want to name those responsible and have them held accountable."

Engelbert Tegethoff, who lost a daughter in the crash, said the aim of the lawsuit was to achieve clarity and ensure such a case never happened again. 

"It's not about the money," he said. "It's about making sure a disaster like this never happens again." In his view, that would mean the victims had not died entirely in vain.

Lufthansa made payments following the accident. Immediate relatives received €10,000 in compensation, with a further €25,000 per victim paid out in bereavement damages.

In lawsuits seeking additional compensation, however, relatives suffered defeats at regional courts in Frankfurt and Essen, as well as on appeal at the Hamm Higher Regional Court.

Those proceedings concerned claims against parent company Lufthansa. The courts placed responsibility for aviation medical fitness examinations with the state.