Lufthansa’s insurers today set aside $300 million to cover anticipated costs associated with the crash of an Airbus A320 operated by its subsidiary Germanwings on March 24. A spokeswoman confirmed that the amount has been “provisionally reserved” to cover costs such as compensation and care for bereaved families, the insurance value of the aircraft, associated legal costs, the task of recovering and disposing of the aircraft remains, securing the accident site and the work of emergency services.
“We are aware that we cannot compensate materially for the loss that the bereaved have suffered as a result of this tragic accident,” said the airline. “However, we wish to offer them initial financial aid in a swift and un-bureaucratic manner.”
Acting on behalf of Germanwings, Lufthansa is covering immediate expenses for bereaved families, assessed at €50,000 ($54,000) for each person killed in the crash. This emergency aid does not need to be repaid and will not affect any future clams.
Meanwhile, French prosecutor Brice Robin has yet to resolve what criminal charges his office might formally level in the Germanwings case. Marseille-based Robin was quick to state that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed the aircraft, killing all 150 people on board. He made this assessment based entirely on the contents of the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder.
Later this week, Robin plans to appoint two magistrates to handle the anticipated committal proceedings in Marseille. However, his office indicated to AIN that it still hasn't determined exactly what charges it will bring. Options could include manslaughter, homicide or murder.
In a March 31 statement, France's BEA accident investigation agency explained the main focus of its continuing investigation. It said that investigators are seeking to provide a detailed technical explanation of "the history of the flight," based on detailed analysis of the cockpit voice recorder "as well as any flight parameter data that may be available. BEA is also studying "systemic weaknesses" revealed by the crash, and, in particular, is considering the cockpit door locking system, cockpit access and exit procedures, "as well as criteria and procedures applied to detect specific psychological profiles."