AMERICAN AIRLINES STATEMENT REGARDING FLIGHT 331 Release #2 @ 1:25 (a.m.) U.S. Central Time
FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire/ — On Tuesday, December 22, 2009, American Airlines Flight 331, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, overran the runway on landing at Kingston, Jamaica’s Norman Manley International Airport. The flight originated out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, operated into Miami International Airport, and then operated into Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport.
Preliminary reports indicate there are no critical injuries. The aircraft was carrying 148 passengers and a crew of six.
“The care of our passengers and crew members is our highest priority and we will offer all the assistance necessary,” said Gerard Arpey, American’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
American Airlines is in direct contact with officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration and is cooperating fully with appropriate authorities. American Airlines cannot speculate as to possible causes of the incident. At this point, no additional details can be confirmed.
Anyone who believes they have family members or friends aboard Flight 331 may contact American Airlines at the following toll-free numbers: (800) 245-0999 for calls originating in the United States; (800) 872-2881 for calls originating in Jamaica. Family members from other locations outside the U.S. may contact American through the AT&T; Direct Access system. Callers should dial the local AT&T; Access telephone number, which can be found at www.usa.att.com/traveler, for the country from which they are calling. Once in the AT&T; system, callers can then dial American toll-free at (800) 245-0999. Family members in Canada, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin islands can call the (800) 245-0999 number directly. Non-family members are asked not to call those numbers so the lines can be kept available for those who truly need them.
SOURCE American Airlines
Comment:
Compared to the catastrophe this could have been, everyone was extremely lucky. But clearly there were injuries on board and all injured deserve compensation. Those injuries may not just be the broken bones and back pain being reported now, but brain injury and PTSD. See our related blog at http://tbilaw.blog.com
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Winter and Semi’s Bad Mix
Well we have a foot of snow on the ground here in Wisconsin, which was waiting for me when I got off my last airline flight. The drive home was one of the most anxious I can remember, largely because all of the people who had forgotten how to drive in the snow. Among the idiots out that night were way too many truckers. Fortunately, when I got out of the Milwaukee area, it was only the professional drivers on the road and everyone was content to drive at a reasonable speed, single file. Yet, even at that, we got stopped in one place for almost an hour because a semi had jacked knife across both lanes of the Interstate and it took that long to tow it and the other car away.
Today I read another story about a truck and car collision, with considerably more dire consequences. See http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/263011/ This time, a woman was killed. According to InForum of Fargo/Moorhead Minnesota, the victim pulled out in front of a truck. With the large snow piles in the Midwest right now, that isn’t a huge surprise. But what drew my attention to this story was this paragraph, where another cause of the accident was discussed:
“About 40 accidents have led to six deaths at that intersection (Clay County Highway 12 and U.S. Highway 75) in the past two decades, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.”
Sometimes, assessing the full fault in a wreck is more complicated than just looking at the driver. Earlier this year, we were involved in a case where the State of California paid $10 million because of a faulty highway design. We are doing more and more of these cases every year.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Today I read another story about a truck and car collision, with considerably more dire consequences. See http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/263011/ This time, a woman was killed. According to InForum of Fargo/Moorhead Minnesota, the victim pulled out in front of a truck. With the large snow piles in the Midwest right now, that isn’t a huge surprise. But what drew my attention to this story was this paragraph, where another cause of the accident was discussed:
“About 40 accidents have led to six deaths at that intersection (Clay County Highway 12 and U.S. Highway 75) in the past two decades, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.”
Sometimes, assessing the full fault in a wreck is more complicated than just looking at the driver. Earlier this year, we were involved in a case where the State of California paid $10 million because of a faulty highway design. We are doing more and more of these cases every year.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
