Delta to pay $79 million to settle LA jet fuel dump lawsuit
Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay $78.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by homeowners and residents affected when a plane off-loaded jet fuel during an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport.
Delta Flight 89 was leaving Los Angeles for Shanghai in January 2020 when it had an engine issue shortly after takeoff.
The plane released fuel to reach a safe landing weight before returning successfully to LAX. But the maneuver exposed children in school and adults on the ground to the fuel vapor, according to media reports at the time.
The two sides worked with a mediator for about three and a half years and ended up with “we think … a great settlement for the people that we represent,” lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Filippo Marchino of the X-Law Group, said in an interview.
In the proposed agreement, the Atlanta-based carrier denies all liability but said it was seeking to avoid the costs of continuing litigation.
If the case were to proceed to trial, the airline argued it would “prove that the experienced pilots and cabin crew of DL89 did exactly what federal regulations and their (Federal Aviation Administration)-approved training required them to do.”
“The airplane, loaded with enough fuel for a nonstop flight to Shanghai, exceeded its maximum landing weight by around 160,000 pounds.” The pilots jettisoned fuel during the return appropriately, Delta argues, to ensure a safe landing.
The carrier said an FAA investigation found the pilots “acted properly under federal law” in the emergency.
“The flight crew’s actions enabled all of the passengers and crew to exit the aircraft safely after the emergency landing,” it wrote.
In response to a request for comment, a Delta spokesperson referred The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to statements in the proposed settlement.
The class action includes an estimated 38,000 homeowners and 160,000 residents in southeast Los Angeles County and a portion of Orange County who were below the flight’s landing path.
It is separate from the personal injury claims filed by several hundred people alleging physical and emotional damage, Marchino told the AJC. Those claims were settled confidentially years ago, he said.
This class action compensation is to make up for a potential loss in property value from the stigma of the jet fuel dump for property owners, he said, as well as the disruption the incident caused for residents.
After attorneys’ fees and other costs, the net settlement fund will work out to about $50.6 million. If 50% of qualifying class members make a claim, which Marchino called “a high claim rate,” each property owner would receive nearly $1,800, and each resident would receive nearly $209.
The settlement also includes a nonmonetary component for homeowners, in the form of a certification that “functionally says there’s no trace of any jet fuel” to help facilitate a future sale by assuring potential buyers the property is unaffected, he said. That testing is already complete.
After a judge grants final approval, claimants can expect to be paid next spring, he estimated.
About the Author
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
