“No warning was given to the passengers about the forecast severe weather conditions,” the lawsuit alleges, “and the seatbelt sign was not illuminated.”
A group of passengers who say their pilots chose to fly through dangerous weather have filed a lawsuit against Delta Airlines.
According to Fox-13, the July 30 flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam encountered a patch of severe weather above Wyoming. The flight crew briefly lost control of the aircraft. Two-dozen passengers and seven crew members were injured, most due to turbulence.
“Delta had the warnings,” said Aviation Law Group attorney Casey DuBose. “Delta had the tools. Delta had the ability to avoid this weather and chose to disregard the warnings.”
The lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of 20 passengers. Attorneys say that Delta’s pilots received advance warning of “the potential for developing convective weather and thunderstorms.”
“No warning was given to the passengers about the forecast severe weather conditions,” the lawsuit alleges, “and the seatbelt sign was not illuminated.”
“Plaintiffs’ injuries include, but are not limited to, bruising, abrasions, whiplash, nausea, internal injuries, broken bones, physical pain, severe injury, severe stress, anxiety, flashbacks, phobia, fear of flying, and also objective physical manifestations of mental harm and emotional distress,” the lawsuit says.
Delta told Fox-13 that it cannot comment on pending litigation while the incident remains under investigation.
“We’re unable to comment on active litigation involving a matter that is currently under [National Transportation Safety Board] investigation,” Delta said in a statement.
A preliminary report, however, indicates that the flight crew had discussed potential severe weather ahead of their departure from Salt Lake City. The pilots later noted that their forecasts predicted turbulence “in the green.” Before the storm, they “had observed only light cirrus clouds.”
But Casey DuBose, an attorney for the passengers, said that the crew failed to account for more urgent warning signs.
“The aircraft just continues straight on towards that area of known turbulence,” DuBose told Fox-13 in an interview. “They tried to make a little bit of course change, but they had the authority to make a 90-degree change to get away from the weather, and they didn’t do that.”
“We have some people with very extreme injuries,” he said. “We have broken bones. We have people that have significant concussions to the head; people that got thrown against the ceiling.”
Sources
Delta passengers file lawsuit over turbulent SLC-Amsterdam flight
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