LOS ANGELES — Delta Air Lines is facing a lawsuit from three students at Pioneer High School in Whittier who claim they experienced symptoms such as emotional distress, skin irritation, dizziness, and nausea from jet fuel dumped on their school by a Delta airplane.
The lawsuit was filed on Friday at the Spring Street Courthouse. It is the second lawsuit filed against the airline after Delta Flight 89 released thousands of gallons of jet fuel over parts of Los Angeles County, prompting hazardous-materials responses to multiple schools including in Cudahy, South Gate and South Los Angeles.
No one was hospitalized, but dozens of students and adults were treated for skin irritation and respiratory issues resulting from the falling fuel.
The lawsuit was filed by McNicholas & McNicholas LLP on behalf of the Whittier students and claims the students were “coated with jet fuel dumped from Flight 89” and the exposure caused them to suffer “severe emotional distress,” as well as skin irritation, sickness, dizziness, and nausea.
The lawsuit also alleges that Delta was negligent and the incident could have been avoided.
The students are seeking compensation, medical expenses and attorney fees from Delta, according to the lawsuit.
Delta Flight 89 — a Boeing 777 — left Los Angeles International Airport at 11:15 a.m. Jan. 14 bound for Shanghai with 181 people on board. According to Delta, the plane “experienced an engine issue requiring the aircraft to return to LAX. The aircraft landed safely after a release of fuel, which was required as part of normal procedure to reach a safe landing weight.”
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Delta made after the regular close of business Wednesday.
