Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay a $79 million settlement to South Los Angeles residents after its pilots dumped jet fuel on neighborhoods more than five years ago.
In January 2020, pilots of a Boeing 777 turned their Shanghai-bound flight back towards LAX after experiencing engine trouble shortly after takeoff. However, pilots were forced to dump their fuel reserves since the jet exceeded its max landing weight by about 160,000 pounds. The liquid rained down onto thousands of cars, homes, businesses and schools.
“People that live in Cudahy, Bell Gardens, they have been victimized over the years by different environmental issues,” attorney Filippo Marchino said.
Residents living along the fuel-dump trail filed a class-action lawsuit, arguing that the plane was too low and should never have emptied over densely populated neighborhoods.
“Our contention was that the fuel jettison was not necessary. The plane in question, the Boeing 777 could land perfectly fine with all the fuel aboard,” Marchino said. “But, if the pilots determined that it was necessary, and that was within their discretion, they should not have executed it the way that they did.”
Marchino said Delta also agreed to work with his clients to recreate the incident and test residue to alleviate fears surrounding potential health risks from the fuel dump. The settlement will provide every property owner with a certificate confirming that their property is clear.
“That was extremely important to them, because it restored the value of their biggest asset, which is their home,” Marchino said. “People that use the house, that reside in the house, are able to go back outside and let their kids outside … We have found that a lot of people were still scared about that.”
As part of the settlement, Delta did not admit to liability and pointed to an investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration that cleared the pilots of wrongdoing.
“Even at the maximum amounts predicted by Plaintiffs’ experts, any jet fuel reaching the ground would quickly dissipate and would not be detectable even one hour after the fuel jettison, let alone weeks, months, or years later,” the airliner wrote in a statement.
If a judge approves the settlement, Marchino said that 38,000 properties in Southeast LA and Orange County could each receive $888. Roughly 160,000 residents are also eligible for $110 each.
A separate lawsuit regarding fuel falling on people, including school children, is still pending an outcome.
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