Same Airline, Same Reckless Error
12/26/09On June 1, 1999, the pilots of American Airlines Flight 1420 attempted to out run a fast-moving thunderstorm that was approaching their destination of Little Rock, Arkansas. The thunderstorm won the race but the pilots attempted the landing regardless of the treacherous conditions. In their haste and confusion, the harried pilots failed to properly set up the aircraft for landing. Worse yet, the high winds, wind shear and driving rain were simply unsuitable for landing. As a result, the airplane skidded off the end of the runway, collided with airport structures and caught fire. Ten of the 139 passengers were killed and many more sustained serious and life altering injuries. Inexcusable.
This week in Jamaica history repeated itself when the pilots of American Flight 331 attempted to land a Boeing 737-800 in a driving rainstorm. Same reckless mistake. Fortunately there was no post-impact fire. Otherwise the outcome would have been more tragic.
But whether there were fatalities in the Jamaica crash is not the point. The point is that American Airlines made the same grave mistake this week as it did 10 years ago. Did American management not take the lessons of Flight 1420 seriously? Did American not alter its severe weather avoidance training as it told the NTSB that it would? Is American still the arrogant “we do it our way” airline regardless of their passengers’ safety? All very real and troubling questions.
Until we know more it appears to be the same airline making the same reckless errors. That’s the tragedy for those who suffered through the disaster of Flight 1420 and had hoped it would never happen again.
Aviation lawyer Michael Slack has been involved as one of the lead attorneys in several American Airlines crashes. In the litigation arising from American Airlines Flight 1420, he was one of the attorneys who took the lead in developing the liability case against American Airlines. He was co-lead trial counsel in Manus v. American Airlines, a case tried for passengers Stephanie Manus and her two children. The Manus verdict was the only passenger injury verdict in the AA1420 litigation affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Slack & Davis aviation attorney Ladd Sanger also was involved in AA1420 litigation. On behalf of the entire MDL (multidistrict litigation) panel, Sanger created a reenactment of AA1420’s approach to landing and accident sequence. He also supported the MDL lead counsel in performing key liability depositions.
Michael Slack and Ladd Sanger have represented passengers in the following American Airlines and American Eagle airplane crashes, and in several non-crash cases against American Airlines involving international flights and passenger injuries (under the Montreal Convention).
American Eagle Flight 4184 (ATR-72-212)
Roselawn, Indiana
October, 1994
American Airlines Flight 1420 (McDonnell Douglas MD-82)
Little Rock, Arkansas
June, 1999
American Airlines Flight 587 (Airbus A300B4-605R)
Belle Harbor, New York
November, 2001
American Connection Flight 5966 (BAE Jetstream 32)
Kirksville, Missouri
October, 2004
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