Lufthansa could face heavy liabilities

Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings could face liabilities well above the typical ceiling in airline crashes for the passengers who died on Tuesday when one of its jets was flown into an Alpine mountain, some aviation lawyers said.

A lot will depend on whether the airline can defend itself against negligence claims, given that prosecutors said the young German co-pilot locked himself alone in the cockpit of the Airbus A320 and set it on course to crash, killing all 144 passengers and six crew members.

An international agreement generally limits airline liability to around $157,400 (€144,400) for each passenger who dies in a crash if families do not sue, but if families want to pursue compensation for greater damages, they can file lawsuits.

Lawyers who have represented families in past airline disasters said potential lawsuits could focus on whether Germanwings properly screened the co-pilot before and during his employment, and on whether the airline should have had a policy requiring two or more people in cockpits at all times during a flight.

Justin Green, a partner at the law firm Kreindler & Kreindler in New York, said passengers’ families would be justified in asking why Andreas Lubitz, the 28-year-old co-pilot, was allowed to be alone in the cockpit.

Pilots may temporarily leave the cockpit at certain times and in certain circumstances, such as while the aircraft is cruising, according to German aviation law.

Even if the practice was allowed, though, “this has been a known risk,” Green said.

He noted that some investigators believed pilots intentionally downed a SilkAir aircraft in 1997 and an Egypt- Air aircraft in 1999.

Under an international agreement known as the Montreal Convention of 1999, an airline generally cannot escape liability for a passenger death.

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