Court: Lockheed Martin liable for fatal 2015 crash

US defense contractor Lockheed Martin must pay compensation to the families of two Hellenic Air Force pilots who died in a 2015 NATO training crash in Spain, according to a Greek appeals court decision in March earlier this year. The decision comes 10 years after the incident, one of NATO’s deadliest peacetime aviation accidents. The January 2015 crash occurred at Los Llanos Air Base near Albacete, Spain, during a NATO exercise. A Greek two-seater F-16 crashed just 7.8 seconds after takeoff, killing both pilots – Captain Panagiotis Laskaris, 35, and co-pilot Athanasios Zagas, 31. Nine French military personnel were also killed, and 33 others were injured. Three NATO aircraft were destroyed. The Athens Court of Appeals ruled that Lockheed Martin failed to implement adequate safety measures. Relatives of the Greek pilots filed a lawsuit in 2017. Greek courts initially dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, but the Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that Greek courts had authority. The appeals court’s March 17 decision held Lockheed Martin liable for design flaws and the absence of warning systems that could have prevented the fatal crash. Lockheed Martin denied any responsibility, citing proper manufacturing and existing safety protocols. It also claimed the aircraft was structurally sound and that pilot error played a significant role.