Delta Air Lines agreed to pay $78.75 million to settle a lawsuit from a January 2020 incident involving Flight 89. The Shanghai-bound Boeing 777 had engine problems shortly after takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport and returned to LAX with fuel for a 13-hour flight. Pilots dumped about 15,000 gallons of fuel over Los Angeles and Orange County, affecting tens of thousands of properties and several schools. Twenty children and 11 adults at one elementary school were treated for eye and skin irritation; officials said 67 people received treatment overall. Pilots did not notify air traffic control and reportedly flew as low as 2,000 feet, below the recommended 5,000 feet. The FAA investigated and found the pilots acted properly. The proposed settlement requires court approval and includes no admission of liability.
A proposed settlement, which requires a judge's approval, was filed Monday in a class-action case that has been in litigation since January 2020. Earlier that month, Delta Flight 89 suffered engine problems shortly after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport. The pilots of the Shanghai-bound Boeing 777 decided to return to LAX. But with enough fuel for a 13-hour flight, the plane was too heavy for an optimal landing.
Dumping fuel is not uncommon, but typically, planes jettison over non-populated areas like the ocean. However, the complaint said that Flight 89 released 15,000 gallons of fuel onto tens of thousands of properties in Los Angeles and Orange County. That included an elementary school where 20 children and 11 adults were treated for minor injuries like eye and skin irritation. Some other schools were affected too, and local officials said that 67 people were treated in total.
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