Relatives of Germanwings victims sue Germany over pilot oversight a decade after Alps crash

The crash

On 24 March 2015, Germanwings Flight 4U9525 was en route from Barcelona to Düsseldorf when co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the cockpit door after the captain left for the toilet and steered the Airbus A320-211 into a mountainside in the French Alps. All 144 passengers and six crew members died, among them 16 schoolchildren and two teachers from a school in Haltern am See returning from a student exchange in Spain.

Investigators concluded Lubitz, then 27, suffered from depression and psychoses but concealed his condition from his employer because he feared losing his Lufthansa pilot licence. The crash prompted scrutiny of aviation medical screening procedures.

A fresh claim against the state

Eleven years later, 30 relatives of the victims have filed a civil suit at the Braunschweig Regional Court. The claim is directed at the Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt), which has its seat in Braunschweig. The plaintiffs argue the agency did not sufficiently monitor Lubitz’s fitness to fly, specifically that state-mandated aviation medical examinations were not thorough enough on psychiatric conditions. Each relative demands up to 110,000 euros in damages, while the Düsseldorf law firm Baum, Reiter und Kollegen states the 32 relatives it represents are seeking a total of about 1.2 million euros in pain and suffering.

The case rests on the principle of official liability under Article 839 of the German Civil Code. It was filed as early as July 2023 but is only now being heard because of the volume of material; a court spokesperson told NDR Niedersachsen that hearings begin on 28 August 2026 and could stretch over weeks.

Demanded per relative (current suit)110,000

Total pain and suffering sought (law firm)1,200,000

Lufthansa ex-gratia payment per next of kin10,000

Lufthansa transferable sum per victim25,000

Demanded per relative (current suit)

110000 EUR

Total pain and suffering sought (law firm)

1200000 EUR

Lufthansa ex-gratia payment per next of kin

10000 EUR

Lufthansa transferable sum per victim

25000 EUR

Data from the article text

Contradictory legal precedent

Previous attempts to obtain compensation have failed, but the reasoning is now complicating the Braunschweig case. In 2020, relatives sued Lufthansa at the Essen Regional Court, arguing the airline bore responsibility. The court dismissed the claim, ruling that the state, not the carrier, was responsible for medical oversight of pilots. That position was later upheld by the Hamm Higher Regional Court and the Frankfurt Regional Court in separate proceedings against Lufthansa’s US flight school.

“The medical monitoring duty is the task of the state.”

A court that doubts it will grant relief

Now Braunschweig appears to be leaning in the opposite direction. The court said in a first assessment that it is unlikely the Federal Republic can be ordered to pay damages and that Lufthansa might instead be obliged to compensate the victims. This creates a legal impasse: one set of courts says oversight is a state duty, while the current court suggests the state is not liable.

If the suit is dismissed, the relatives could face the same outcome as in 2020, bearing the court costs without receiving compensation for their deceased family members. Lufthansa has already made ex-gratia payments: 10,000 euros in pain and suffering to immediate next of kin per person, plus a transferable 25,000 euros per deceased victim.