Twoonefour,
The fact is that the approach coud not be considered safe as per international standards. The safety margins seem to have been compromised otherwise this would bot be considered a serious incident by the German authorities.
Furthermore the action you suggest when receiving a legal letter sounds like the approach one should take under a dictatorship.
In my opinion the airline have the wrong culture (overhall culture) and this filters to the day to day operations. Statistically it is only a matter of time before their lawyers are busy defending from potentially 189 families.