MC99: German Supreme Court annuls CA judgment that rejected passenger claim who slipped on passenger bridge

The German Supreme Court (BGH) annulled and remanded a judgment of the Court of Appeal (CA) of Düsseldorf that rejected a claim of a passenger who slipped on the passenger bridge during the disembarkation process.

French court awards more than 30 million € compensation over 2009 Yemenia Airlines accident …and highlights few legal issues on international air carrier liability

The French court of first instance (TGI) of Aix-en-Province has awarded damages of over 30 million Euros to the families of 70 passengers, who died at the crash of Yemenia airlines flight IY626 off shore from the Comoros islands on 30 June 2009. This is the second judgment on the case, the first one being rendered by the TGI Bobigny, which awarded about 7 million Euros to the families of three passengers. Some factual and legal parameters of the case are of great interest.

Flight MH370: A few clarifications on the notions of “accident”, “missing aircraft”, “liability” and their legal implications

The Malaysian government has officially declared the disappearance of flight MH370 an “accident” under Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention. It was reported that such statement aims at facilitating compensation of the families of victims. In law, it is not unusual to use the same terms with different meanings in different context. Such is the case of the term “accident” as used in accident and incident investigation, and in airline liability. The above Malaysian declaration causes confusion and raises questions.

FAA rule on repair stations becomes effective

On 10 November 2014 the new FAA rule on repair stations became effective. The rule changes mainly the certification requirements of the repair stations and the related application process (14 CFR 145). The changes were deemed necessary to harmonize the rules on the repair stations with other parts of the FAA’s regulations, mainly these on air carriers (Parts 121 and 135).

NTSB denies reconsideration of flight TWA 800 investigation

The US National Transportation Board (NTSB) denied last week a petition for reconsideration of its findings and determination of the probable cause of the flight TWA 800 accident, which occurred on 17 July 1996 shortly after departure from New York’s JFK airport. After four years of investigation, the NTSB concluded that the accident’s probable cause was fuel ignition in the aircraft’s central fuel tank. However, there were claims that the aircraft had been shot down by a missile (click here for an example). In support of the latter view, a group called “TWA 800 Project” asked the NTSB in 2013 to reopen the accident investigation based on a new analysis of the radar evidence and witness summaries collected at the time of the accident. The NTSB rejected the petition in its entirety as unfounded.

Flight MH 370: US law firm plans lawsuit against Boeing and Malaysian Airlines

Reuters has reported that US law firm Ribbeck law plans a lawsuit against Malaysian Airlines and Boeing over the accident of flight MH 370. The firm is representing the relatives one of the persons presumed dead. It plans to turn also against component manufacturers and possibly maintenance service providers.

Flight 370 and security deficiencies

The events surrounding Malaysian airlines flight 370 have sparked discussions about security deficiencies of the air travel in general and of the Malaysian aviation authorities in particular.