Airplane fire lawsuit
The suit seeks damages on behalf of 77 passengers on the jet in Fort Lauderdale.
Dozens of passengers aboard an aborted Fort Lauderdale-Caracas flight in 2015 have sued Dynamic International Airways, operator of a Boeing 767 that failed to take off when an engine fire erupted at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The lawsuit, filed June16 in Broward Circuit Court, seeks unspecified damages on behalf of 77 passengers on the ill-fated Oct. 29, 2015 flight. It alleges the plane caught fire due to “acts, negligence and willful misconduct,” by the airline and pilot. A number of people said theywere hurt while evacuating the plane.
Plaintiff ATTORNEY STEVEN MARKSof the Miami lawfirm Podhurst Orseck said some individual claims could reach into the millions of dollars due to the severity of injuries that impacted the passengers’ quality of life and their ability towork.
“All had some injuries ... and the anxiety, the nightmares [and] fear of flying, that only getsworse,” Marks told the Sun Sentinel this week. “Those people will be scarred forever.”
Among the passengers seeking money is an anesthesiologist who suffered a shoulder injury and can no longer perform her job. Several others had orthopedic injuries, Marks said.
He said the lawsuitwas a last resort after efforts over the past 18 months failed to secure settlementswith the airline’s Londonbased insurance company.
Marks asserted the insurer has “hundreds of millions of dollars” to settle the claims. Both the airline and insurance company have been unresponsive for months, he said.
A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board a few days after the incident said of the 90 passengers and11 crew members on Dynamic Flight 405, one sustained serious injuries and 21hadminor injuries during the emergency evacuation.
The NTSB reviewalso revealed a critical fuel line mechanism had been disconnected above and behind the left engine andwing, where the fire erupted, sending thick black smoke into the air.
The agency also said the twinengine Boeing 767 had been in dry storage for about 29 months before Dynamic leased it the September before the fire. An initial inspection of the aircraft’s onboard logbook showed no maintenance had been performed before the fire on the plane’s fuel line coupling assembly.
A board spokesman said Friday the accident is still under investigation.
Marks contends the airlinewas at fault for not performing the proper aircraft maintenance that led to the fuel leak that ignited the fire. He also alleges Dynamic failed to train crewmembers on proper emergency exit procedures.
“This whole [accident] might have been avoided if the proper procedureswere followed and the plane evacuated where itwas on the runway instead of trying to bring it back to the gate, which is when the fire broke out,” Marks said.
Officials from Dynamic could not be reached for comment.
The carrier ended service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Caracas in August 2016 a little more than a year after launching operations. Dynamic gave no reason for the cancellation. The fire-damaged jetliner remains idled in the northwest corner of the airport.
For some passengers, time has done little to erase memories of the traumatic experience.
“Itwas really chaotic,” said passenger David Magro,23,i na telephone interview, recalling he and his sister had been traveling to Caracas for a cousin’swedding.
Today, he still has to muster the courage and try not toworry when he boards a plane.
“I still remember it prettywell,” he said.
“Those people will be scarred forever.” StevenMarks, attorney