Hard landings can be uncomfortable for both the aircraft and the occupants. A traveler who witnessed one in 2014 went to court arguing that it caused her to herniate a disc. The case went through all the courts and is now pending in the Supreme Court.
The lady is demanding a sum of around 70.000 euros and has so far been defeated by the airline in all instances. Among other things, they decided on the basis of the Montreal Agreement that there was no accident. Therefore, no claim for damages can be derived from the airline. The Supreme Court referred questions to the European Court of Justice.
These are so-called preliminary decisions that courts occasionally request from the European Supreme Court on particularly tricky issues. The ECJ ruled that it was not an accident as there was no pilot error. The lady's request would be a disproportionate expansion of the definition of an accident within the meaning of the Montreal Agreement.
According to the European Court of Justice, it depends on whether a "hard landing" is an accident or not. If no pilot error and no technical defects can be found, the assumption that it would be an accident can be ruled out. The ECJ is of the opinion that in the specific case everything remained within the scope of a usual landing, which can be harder at times. The Supreme Court now has the final say and must rule on the plaintiff's appeal.
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