Germanwings crash: 'This cannot happen again' - widow of Wolverhampton man killed in plane tragedy fights for justice

These are the words of the widow of Germanwings air crash victim Martyn Matthews on the first anniversary of his death today.

Now heartbroken Sharon Matthews is demanding tighter rules to make sure pilots are in the correct mental state to fly planes so no more lives are destroyed.

One year on from the horror smash, in which co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed Flight 9525 into the French Alps en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, Mrs Matthews has returned to the scene to join other families in a vigil.

Wolves fan Mr Matthews, from Bushbury, Wolverhampton, was one of 150 people killed in the crash. The father-of-two worked for HUF UK, based in Tipton, and travelled regularly with work.

After trying to stay out of the media glare over the past 12 months, his brave widow has spoken exclusively to the Express & Star as she tries to bring attention to the issue in the hope that no families face the devastation she and the loved ones of the other victims on the plane have gone through.

It comes as families of the British and Spanish victims killed in the crash, including Sharon, confirmed they are preparing to start legal proceedings against the US Flight School in Arizona where Lubitz was trained.

Fighting back the tears, she said: "I just want the best for Martyn. He can't have lost his life for this to happen again. I've got to fight this. I will fight for changes. I understand that people get depressed, but if you're in that position of power, where you are responsible for all those people, you should not be flying that plane. Medical records for pilots should be made available, this could have been prevented. It shouldn't be a problem if they have nothing to hide. If someone has depression or a mental illness then they should be made to take a sideways move, get the treatment they need. He didn't deserve this. None of them deserved this. Those poor children."

Two weeks ago it was revealed in a report that Lubitz had been referred to a psychiatric clinic two weeks before he crashed the plane. French air accident bureau BEA revealed that multiple doctors had failed to inform the authorities about concerns for his mental health.

Families of the victims had previously been told 27-year-old Lubitz had seen 41 doctors in recent years but under German law none was able to alert his employers to his state of mind.

The BEA said because Lubitz had not informed anyone about the doctors' warnings 'no action could have been taken by the authorities or his employer to prevent him from flying'. It was also revealed that in 2009, Lubitz's Class 1 medical certificate was not revalidated due to depression, and he was taking medication to treat it. He received a new certificate that same year but with special conditions and restrictions.

Mrs Matthews cannot even bring herself to say Lubitz's name. "Just talking about him makes my stomach turn. I don't talk about him," she said. "Our lives are built on trust. But my trust is gone. Look what he's done to all those families."

She added: "We were just normal everyday people. We kept ourselves to ourselves. Then within a minute you're thrown into a huge national incident that nobody would believe. I'm waiting for someone to just say 'you can wake up now and it's all going to go away. It's a dream'. But I'm on my own here. I can't let another family go through this."

Since the crash, Mrs Matthews has forced herself to fly to every hearing to see that justice is done for Martyn and his fellow victims, despite the prospect of flying being terrifying.

She said: "I've been on about 38 planes since then. I absolutely hate it. How do I trust them?

"Seeing this latest incident in Brussels has freaked me out. When something like Brussels happens, it affects you. It opens your wounds again, although mine have never really healed. They never will heal."

Clive Garner, head of Aviation Law at Irwin Mitchell and one of the expert team representing British and Spanish families, said: "As we reach the first anniversary of this terrible tragedy, the victims' families deserve answers as to how this disaster was allowed to happen. Our clients understandably remain incredibly upset and angry. While nothing can bring their loved ones back, they want those who were responsible for allowing Lubitz to qualify as a pilot and fly commercial airliners to be brought to justice."