A federal judge in Los Angeles is expected to give final approval to a nearly $79 million settlement Delta Air Lines reached over a 2020 incident in which jet fuel rained down on schoolyards, playgrounds and homes across southeast Los Angeles County. The class-action deal is meant to compensate an estimated 38,000 property owners and residents in Los Angeles and Orange counties whose neighborhoods were doused when a Boeing 777 dumped fuel shortly after takeoff.
According to mynewsla.com, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt is expected to approve the settlement at a hearing in Los Angeles federal court. Delta Air Lines reached the $78.8 million settlement to resolve the class-action lawsuit, though Reuters reported the figure as $78.75 million, with a proposed preliminary settlement filed in Los Angeles federal court still requiring a judge's sign-off.
What Happened on the Flight
The Delta flight was traveling to Shanghai from Los Angeles International Airport when it lost thrust shortly after takeoff, according to mynewsla.com. Pilots jettisoned about 15,000 pounds of jet fuel from the Boeing 777 before turning back, per the outlet's reporting, though KTLA has described the release as up to 15,000 gallons. The incident occurred over Bell, Cudahy and surrounding southeast Los Angeles communities, and reports differ on the exact date, with some outlets citing Jan. 14, 2020, and the Los Angeles Times citing Jan. 20, 2020.
Property owners argued the pilots needlessly dumped fuel at low altitude over densely populated areas, according to mynewsla.com, and said the flight crew instead could have released fuel over the Pacific Ocean, at high altitude, or burned it off by flying in a holding pattern. Several dozen people on the ground were treated for minor injuries, Reuters reported. Delta has denied wrongdoing in the incident, and the airline has said a Federal Aviation Administration investigation later cleared the pilots of wrongdoing.
An Elected Official Calls It Environmental Injustice
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis called the settlement a long-overdue acknowledgment of harm to working families, schoolchildren and educators, according to mynewsla.com. Solis said children were burned and that teachers cared for students in crisis without notice or protective equipment. She also said families faced the aftermath with few answers and no accountability, and she described the fuel dump as an environmental injustice.
Filippo Marchino, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the agreement was fair and reasonable, per the same account. The lawsuit concerns the 2020 fuel dump that affected tens of thousands of properties across the two counties, and the settlement is set to be distributed among the roughly 38,000 property owners and residents whose homes and schools were in the fuel's path.
How the Money Would Be Split
Once legal fees and costs are subtracted, the net settlement fund may total $50.6 million, according to Reuters. The proposed division would set aside about two-thirds, or roughly $33.9 million, for property owners, with about one-third, or roughly $16.7 million, going to residents, according to the Los Angeles Times. If every eligible household and individual files a claim, average payouts would run about $889 per household and $104 per individual, according to a report from Mexico Business News.
Delta has said it settled to avoid the uncertainty, distraction and cost of continued litigation rather than to concede fault, Reuters reported. With Kronstadt expected to sign off on the deal, the case moves toward closing out one of the more disruptive aviation incidents to hit Southern California schoolyards in recent memory.
