Delta Agrees to Pay $78.75 million Settlement for Fuel Dump Lawsuit

Delta has agreed to pay $78.75 million lawsuit against a fuel jettison case, which was filed after a 2020 incident of Delta flight DL8989 losing thrust after take-off, leading to the fuel dump that covered thousands of properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California.

Delta Flight 89 Fuel Dump Incident

In 2020, Delta Flight 89 from Los Angeles to Shanghai soon lost thrust, which led to Delta pilots releasing about 15,000 pounds of jet fuel from a Boeing 777, which covered thousands of properties, including homes and schools across Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

Thousands of property owners claimed the jettison of the 150,000-pound fuel was unnecessary, and over dozens were treated on the ground for minor injuries.

Lawyer for the property owners involved, Filipo Marchino, shared that the settlement payout by Delta was fair and reasonable, and is meant to compensate the impacted families, as per media reports.

Delta agreed to mitigate in court, but also denied lawlessness. Pilots involved were later cleared of any wrongdoing. The preliminary settlement is awaiting judge’s approval in court.

Delta agrees to pay $78.75 million lawsuit

Delta shared in court that pilots and cabin crew performed accordingly to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) training and Federal regulations to ensure passenger safety was a top priority.

An FAA investigation later cleared the Pilots of any misconduct, and the net settlement amounted to about $50.6 million after legal fees were deducted. The case has been filed with the United States District Court, Central District of California.

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