Delta Air Lines agreed to pay $78.5 million after a class action lawsuit alleged the airline unnecessarily drenched thousands of homes and schools with jet fuel back in 2020.
The proposed preliminary agreement was filed in Los Angeles federal court Monday and is now seeking a judge’s approval.
According to the lawsuit, Delta pilots dumped around 15,000 gallons of jet fuel from their Boeing 777 aircraft, dousing densely-populated communities in Los Angeles and Orange counties. More than 60 people were treated for minor injuries, including at least 20 children.
The suit accuses Delta of unnecessarily releasing the fuel at a low altitude over schools and homes instead of over the Pacific Ocean or from a higher-altitude where the fuel could dissipate.
According to local reports, 31 patients reported minor injuries such as itchy skin and eyes along with sore throats. Those at the scene also reported smelling the fuel’s toxic odor.
The plaintiffs demanded the airline clean up after the spill, though Delta denied any wrongdoing. According to the suit, “thousands of properties remain, to this day, covered in jet fuel.”
While the suit acknowledges that Delta dispatched 13 cleaning crews to help impacted schools clean all outside surface areas, the airline failed to remedy the situation for tenants and property owners that were also coated with the fuel.
Delta said the settlement was made to avoid the uncertainty and costliness of litigation. The airline affirms that the 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.”
According to the settlement documents, Delta further argued that the calculations of the plaintiff’s own experts demonstrated that the amount of jet fuel that actually reached the ground were negligible. The airline is “confident it would prove at trial there was no property damage, diminution in value, or lasting harm to residents.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened an investigation after the incident took place; according to Delta, the pilots were cleared of any wrongdoings.
The flight on Jan. 14, 2020 was taking off from Los Angeles to Shanghai, but lost thrust after takeoff. The pilots then released the fuel in order to reduce risks of an overweight emergency landing, before returning back to LAX. The aircraft was carrying 167 passengers and crew members at the time.
After legal fees, the net settlement is expected to total $50.6 million and will be dispersed to the owners and occupants of approximately 38,000 properties, according to court documents.
Filippo Marchino, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, shared in a statement to the Beast that the settlement was fair and would compensate “hard-working families who asked only for respect and just treatment and rightly deserve this result.”
“This settlement represents five years of intense and hard fought litigation, and brings very real recovery to the Class Members both in terms of monetary recovery, as well as non-monetary relief.”
Delta declined to comment as the matter is pending litigation.
