Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay $79 million for dumping 15,000 gallons of jet fuel onto a community in southeastern Los Angeles County five years ago, drenching children playing at a school, to settle a federal lawsuit by local residents.
On Jan. 20, 2020, Delta Flight 89 took off from Los Angeles International Airport en route to Shanghai with 149 passengers for what is typically a 13-hour nonstop flight.
That voyage, however, lasted only 25 minutes due to a plane malfunction, forcing the pilot to turn the aircraft around over the Santa Monica Bay and head back toward the airport.
In the lawsuit settlement, Delta said the plane lost thrust shortly after takeoff. The plane couldn’t land, however, because it was already over the maximum landing weight of 160,000 pounds. Flights landing at LAX typically approach the airport from an inland route and take off over the ocean.
En route back to the airport, the plane’s pilots dumped thousands of gallons of jet fuel over Cudahy and multiple schools.
Dozens of children, and 40 people overall, from Park Avenue Elementary School in Cudahy were hit by the fuel and treated by medical personnel.
Other schools, including Pioneer High School in Whittier, also claimed students were hit with the jet fuel.
Delta noted in court documents that it agreed to the settlement “without any admission of liability” to avoid the uncertainty and expenses of a trial and “to eliminate the distraction and other burdens this litigation has caused to Delta’s business.”
The lawsuit was filed by two Cudahy couples and homeowners, Frankie Lomas and Roxanda Yancor, and Jose and Maria Alvarado.
The settlement totals $78.8 million, which translates into $50.6 million for victims after attorneys’ fees and other court costs. The fund will be sliced into thirds, with two-thirds, or about $33.9 million, set aside for property owners, and one-third, or about $16.7 million, for residents.
At bare minimum, a property owner will receive $888.82 per claim, while a resident will receive $104.34, according to court documents.
The estimated numbers of those who were affected are listed in the lawsuit as 160,000 residents and 38,000 properties.
Calls to the plaintiff’s attorney and Delta Air Lines were not immediately returned.
The post Delta dumped jet fuel on Cudahy schoolkids, agrees to $79-million settlement appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
