India, April 12 -- A Mexican judge has ruled that the plane involved in a 2018 crash in Cuba that killed 112 people suffered from severe maintenance failures and should never have flown, and ordered the owner to pay millions in damages to the families of the victims who sued.

According to court documents dated March 31 and seen Friday by The Associated Press, an independent expert determined the 2018 crash was an "institutional accident" caused by maintenance negligence.

The expert's report, which sided with the plaintiffs, described the pilots as a "final line of defence" who were tragically unable to prevent the low-altitude crash.

Based on these findings, the judge ordered Mexican charter Aerolineas Damojh to pay Rs 1.5 million in d...