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.