Friday, Feb. 29, 2008

NAGOYA (Kyodo) The Nagoya High Court dismissed an appeal Thursday in which the offspring of a couple who died in a 1994 China Airlines plane crash at Nagoya airport had demanded that not only the carrier but also the jetliner's maker, Airbus S.A.S., be held liable for damages.

Kazuyo Hakamata (whose face is not shown in the photo) speaks to reporters Thursday in Nagoya after the Nagoya High Court acquitted Airbus S.A.S. of any responsibility for the 1994 crash of a China Airlines jet at Nagoya airport. KYODO PHOTO

Upholding a 2003 lower court decision, the high court ordered the Taiwanese carrier to pay some ¥98 million in compensation to Kazuyo Hakamata, 51, and her brother, Hiroshi Aozawa, 49, while exempting Airbus from responsibility.

The Nagoya District Court ruled in December 2003 that the crash, which claimed 264 lives, was caused by recklessness on the part of the copilot of the Airbus A300-600R.

But the court rejected the plaintiffs' argument that there were defects in the airplane's autopilot and warning systems.

Presiding Judge Koji Okahisa of the high court said operational errors were the chief cause of the crash and concluded the aircraft could not be called defective.

In the lawsuit filed initially by about 330 people, the district court ordered China Airlines to pay a total of about ¥5 billion to 232 people, scrapping the compensation limit set by the Warsaw Convention, because it determined serious misconduct by the airline caused the crash.

The international convention limits the liability of airlines in the event of accidents.

A group of 29 people appealed the ruling, but 27 of them, excluding Hakamata and Aozawa, reached a negotiated settlement with the airline for compensation last April. The 27 also agreed to drop the claim against Airbus.

According to a 1996 report by the then Transport Ministry's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee, the pilot and copilot made a series of operational errors leading up to the April 26, 1994, crash, including mistakenly aborting a landing approach but then attempting to land manually while the autopilot was in abort mode.

Hakamata and Aozawa argued that the autopilot system was defective. The aircraft also lacked a proper warning system to alert the pilots of the dangerous situation they had put the plane in, they said.

Airbus argued that the crash was caused by the "unpredictable" operations by the pilot and copilot.

"It was regrettable that our claims were not recognized," Hakamata told reporters after the court decision.

Airbus declined comment on Thursday's ruling.

China Airlines said it humbly accepts the ruling and added it will prioritize aviation safety.

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