By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) -Delta Air Lines agreed to pay $78.75 million to resolve a class action lawsuit over a 2020 fuel dump that doused tens of thousands of properties, including homes and schools, in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California.
A proposed preliminary settlement was filed this week in Los Angeles federal court, and requires a judge’s approval.
The case stemmed from a January 14, 2020 incident in which Delta Flight 89 to Shanghai from Los Angeles, carrying 167 passengers and crew, lost thrust soon after takeoff.
Delta pilots jettisoned about 15,000 pounds (6,804 kg) of jet fuel from the Boeing 777 before returning to Los Angeles International Airport, to reduce the risks of an overweight emergency landing. Several dozen people on the ground were treated for minor injuries.
Property owners said the pilots unnecessarily dumped fuel at a low altitude over densely-populated areas, instead of dumping fuel over the Pacific Ocean or at a high altitude so it would dissipate, or burning fuel by flying in a holding pattern. They demanded that Delta clean up the mess.
Delta denied wrongdoing, and said it settled to avoid the uncertainty, distraction and cost of litigation.
The Atlanta-based carrier also said Flight 89’s pilots and cabin crew “did exactly what federal regulations and their FAA-approved training required them to do to respond to that in-flight emergency and ensure the safety of the passengers, crew, and people on the ground.”
A Federal Aviation Administration investigation later cleared the pilots of wrongdoing, Delta said.
The net settlement, after legal fees and costs, may total $50.6 million, and be distributed to owners or residents of an estimated 38,000 properties, court papers show.
Filippo Marchino, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement said the settlement was fair and reasonable, and would compensate “hard-working families who asked only for respect and just treatment and rightly deserve this result.”
The case is In re Delta Air Lines Inc, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 20-00786.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New YorkEditing by Bill Berkrot)
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