Chinese airline successfully resolves aircraft death case for zero-dollar settlement

Client(s) Chinese airline

Jones Day successfully resolved a wrongful death action on behalf of a Chinese airline. The case arose out of a night training flight conducted by a flight academy, where a twin-engine airplane crashed while maneuvering over mountainous terrain. The flight instructor, the airline's sponsored student pilot, and another student pilot perished in the crash. The flight academy ultimately agreed to settle the case on behalf of itself and the Chinese airline. The result confirms that an airline should not be liable when it neither designs nor controls a flight training program.