Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Friday, May 10, 2024 79° Today's Paper


Top News

Deal with 72 Asiana passengers leaves many cases unresolved

1/1
Swipe or click to see more
ASSOCIATED PRESS
File - In this July 6, 2013, aerial file photo, the wreckage of Asiana Flight 214 lies on the ground after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco. On Tuesday, March 3, 2015, more than 70 passengers aboard an Asiana Airlines flight that crashed in San Francisco two years ago have reached a settlement in their lawsuits against the airline. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

SAN FRANCISCO >> The first set of lawsuits stemming from the crash of an Asiana Airlines flight in San Francisco two years ago have been settled, but dozens of additional cases remain after the accident that killed three Chinese teenagers and injured nearly 200 people.

The settlement with 72 passengers who filed personal injury claims includes the airline along with Boeing Co., which made the airplane, and Air Cruisers Co., the New Jersey company that made its evacuation slides.

A court filing Tuesday that disclosed the settlement did not include the financial terms, and plaintiffs’ attorney Frank Pitre said those details are confidential.

"This is the first positive step for these passengers to be able to get closure on a tragic, catastrophic crash and hopefully try to get their lives back together," Pitre said. "We’re pleased we’ve been able to get this first phase resolved."

Boeing spokesman Miles Kotay said the aircraft maker does not comment on pending litigation. Calls for comment to attorneys for Asiana and Air Cruisers were not immediately returned.

Asiana Flight 214 was traveling from South Korea on July 6, 2013, with 307 people on board when the Boeing 777 slammed into a sea wall at the end of a runway during approach to San Francisco International Airport. The impact ripped off the back of the plane, tossed out three flight attendants and their seats, and scattered pieces of the jet across the runway as it spun and skidded to a stop.

U.S. safety investigators blamed the pilots, saying they bungled the landing approach by inadvertently deactivating the plane’s key control for airspeed, among other errors.

But the National Transportation Safety Board also said the complexity of the Boeing 777’s auto-throttle and auto flight director — two of the plane’s key systems for controlling flight — contributed to the accident. The NTSB also faulted materials provided to airlines by Chicago-based Boeing, saying they fail to make clear the conditions in which the auto-throttle doesn’t automatically maintain speed.

 

Pitre said the passengers who settled had injuries that were less serious and have stabilized. At least 14 of the people with whom settlements were reached are minors, requiring the court to approve the agreements, according to Tuesday’s filing.

Comments are closed.