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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Germanwings crash: Families of victims sue US flight school | Germanwings crash: Families of victims sue US flight school |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Families of those killed when the co-pilot of a Germanwings jet crashed it into the French Alps are suing the US flight school where he was trained. | Families of those killed when the co-pilot of a Germanwings jet crashed it into the French Alps are suing the US flight school where he was trained. |
| The claim alleges the Airline Training Center of Arizona (ATCA) failed to properly screen Andreas Lubitz. | |
| In March last year Lubitz locked the plane's captain out of the cabin before ploughing it into the Alps. All 150 people on board were killed. | In March last year Lubitz locked the plane's captain out of the cabin before ploughing it into the Alps. All 150 people on board were killed. |
| He had struggled for many years with mental health problems. | He had struggled for many years with mental health problems. |
| Investigators found that weeks before the crash a doctor had urged him to attend a psychiatric hospital but his employer was never alerted. | Investigators found that weeks before the crash a doctor had urged him to attend a psychiatric hospital but his employer was never alerted. |
| Lubitz received training at the ATCA, owned by Germanwings' parent company Lufthansa, from 2010-2011. | Lubitz received training at the ATCA, owned by Germanwings' parent company Lufthansa, from 2010-2011. |
| 'Suicide time bomb' | 'Suicide time bomb' |
| The lawsuit, filed in Phoenix, Arizona, alleges the school was negligent in admitting him by failing to discover his medical history. | The lawsuit, filed in Phoenix, Arizona, alleges the school was negligent in admitting him by failing to discover his medical history. |
| Lubitz's past made him a "suicide time bomb, triggered to go off under the ordinary stresses of life, particularly the kind of stresses a commercial pilot routinely faces", Marc S Moller, a lawyer with the firm that filed the suit, said in a statement. | Lubitz's past made him a "suicide time bomb, triggered to go off under the ordinary stresses of life, particularly the kind of stresses a commercial pilot routinely faces", Marc S Moller, a lawyer with the firm that filed the suit, said in a statement. |
| Families of 80 of the victims are involved in the legal bid, which also involves lawyers in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. | Families of 80 of the victims are involved in the legal bid, which also involves lawyers in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. |
| A spokeswoman for Lufthansa said the action had "no chance of success". The school is yet to comment. | A spokeswoman for Lufthansa said the action had "no chance of success". The school is yet to comment. |
| FamiliesVictim's families last year called an offer of compensation from the German-based carrier "insulting". | FamiliesVictim's families last year called an offer of compensation from the German-based carrier "insulting". |
| A case in the US offers a potentially higher payout than one in Europe, but analysts queried whether it would succeed given the crash happened overseas and did not involve an American airline. |