By Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO--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, attorneys for the
passengers and airline said in a court filing Tuesday.
The settlement with 72 passengers who filed personal-injury
claims also includes Boeing Co., which made the airplane, and Air
Cruisers Co., the New Jersey company that made its evacuation
slides.
The filing didn't include the settlement's financial terms, and
plaintiffs' attorney Frank Pitre said those details were
confidential.
This is the first set of lawsuits stemming from the crash to be
resolved, he said. Dozens of additional cases involving more than
70 plaintiffs are still pending in federal court in Northern
California.
"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," Mr. Pitre said. "We're pleased
we've been able to get this first phase resolved."
Boeing spokesman Miles Kotay said the aircraft maker doesn't
comment on pending litigation. Calls to attorneys for Asiana and
Air Cruisers Co. weren't immediately returned.
The July 6, 2013, crash of Asiana Flight 214 killed three
Chinese teens and left nearly 200 people injured. The Boeing 777
traveling from South Korea slammed into a sea wall at the end of a
runway during final 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.
Mr. 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.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
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