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Singapore Airlines passengers may be compensated for turbulence, lawyer says
A Brisbane personal injury firm is investigating whether passengers who experienced the severe and fatal turbulence on board the Singapore Airlines flight could be entitled to compensation payouts.
Naomi Neilson
Image credit: Singapore Airlines.
Carter Capner Law said it is currently investigating if the weather or human error is to blame for turbulence on board the Singapore Airlines Flight 321, which left one dead and 43 passengers and crew injured.
The firm’s director and former Aviation Law Association president, Peter Carter, said if the turbulence or other inflight incidents are caused by human error or equipment failure, passengers who have been injured could receive a compensation payout.
“Our investigation is currently focusing on whether the Singapore Airlines event was associated with thunderstorms developing close to the aircraft’s flightpath,” Carter said.
“Access to passenger compensation above the first-tier limit may depend on demonstrating how far the aircraft was from developing thunderstorms in an effort to show aircrew ought to have implemented a flightpath diversion.”
Under the Montreal 1999 Convention, affected passengers may still be able to claim up to $260,000 for proven losses, such as medical expenses, loss of amenities of life, and income loss for proven injury.
Carter said the airline must also pay a higher amount unless it can prove the accident was not due to human negligence.
The firm is currently representing passengers from the LATAM Airlines incident in March, which left 40 people injured when the light between Sydney and Auckland suddenly dropped.
Carter said this incident was likely to have been caused by human error.
In his experience, Carter said turbulence and inflight incidents are the “leading causes” of injuries and have “far exceeded” the injuries sustained during accidents caused by the impact with terrain.
“While airline travel has become far safer in terms of fewer crashes than in past decades, turbulence and other inflight issues seem to be increasing,” Carter said.
“Lufthansa, Air Canada and Hawaiian Airlines have all had planes that encountered unexpected turbulence over the past few years, with a combined injury count well above 100 passengers and crew.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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