Singapore Airlines said on Monday it will pay compensation of between $10,000 and $25,000 to passengers who were injured when a flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence in May.
According to a preliminary report from the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore (TSIB), Singapore Airlines Flight 321 plummeted approximately 178 feet in 4.6 seconds while flying over Myanmar's Irrawaddy Basin, experiencing 1.5 G-forces and throwing passengers and crew through the ceiling.
One passenger, aged 73, died of a suspected heart attack. Twenty-two people are in intensive care with spinal or spinal cord injuries and a further six are hospitalised with brain and skull injuries, according to the hospital in Bangkok where the plane made an emergency landing. There were 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.
Australian passenger Kelly Jordan told an Adelaide newspaper that her injuries left her paralyzed.
The video shows the interior of the Singapore Airlines flight that encountered severe turbulence on May 21, killing one British passenger. (Video: Viral Press via Associated Press)
Singapore Airlines said in a statement on Facebook that it had offered seriously injured passengers an advance of $25,000 and encouraged them to “discuss compensation options tailored to their individual circumstances directly with the airline.” The $25,000 will be considered part of any “final compensation” that passengers will receive.
Singapore Airlines said it had offered $10,000 compensation to any passenger who suffered “minor injuries”, without specifying what it considered minor injuries.
The airline said it would offer all passengers on Flight 321 US$739 (S$1,000) to cover immediate expenses upon departing Bangkok, and would offer full refunds to passengers who had not yet paid.
Eligible passengers can receive more than $600 in European travel delay compensation.
“We deeply apologize to all passengers on board flight SQ321 for the horrific experience they suffered,” Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Pong said in a video message shortly after the accident. “Our top priority is to provide all possible assistance to all passengers and crew.”
Paul Hudson, president of the nonprofit group Flyers Rights, said in a statement that he sees this as an attempt by the airline to avoid litigation. Singapore Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for information about the terms of compensation for passengers.
“Therefore, we believe this proposal can be considered an initial proposal and should not be accepted unless it requires a release of additional liability,” Hudson said.
The Montreal Convention, an international agreement, sets a maximum compensation amount for injury or death on an international flight at about $170,000. Airlines cannot admit fault for paying up to that amount. Travelers can sue for more damages, but they must prove the airline was negligent.
Compensation for uninjured passengers was “pretty good,” said Ladd Sanger, managing partner at Texas law firm Slack, Davis & Sanger, who has handled several aviation accident cases.
Sanger estimates that the proposal would be worth thousands of dollars to uninjured passengers, including airfare refunds and compensation for delays, and even more to injured passengers. For uninjured passengers, this compensation alone would exceed what they could hope to receive in a lawsuit after legal costs, Sanger said.
“Overall, it's not a bad proposal,” Sanger said, comparing it to previous proposals made by U.S. airlines. Sanger encouraged the seriously injured Singapore Airlines passengers to seek legal help.
Alaska Airlines has offered $1,500 in compensation and mental health services to passengers on Flight 1282 after a door plug on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane broke shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon in January.
Several lawsuits have been filed against Alaska Airlines and Boeing in the Flight 1282 incident.
Some passengers on Singapore Airlines Flight 321 have hired Australian law firm Carter Kapner LLP to investigate possible negligence by the airline.
