Nearly half a dozen American passengers who survived an Aeromexico plane crash filed lawsuits against the airline on Aug. 6, according to attorneys from Corboy & Demetrio.
The 11 passengers were onboard an Aeromexico Flight 2431 on July 31, when it crashed after an attempted take-off in the midst of a heavy storm in Durango, Mexico. The aircraft, which was on its way to Mexico City hit the ground a few hundred yards away from the runway.
“All of the people on this flight have the right to know exactly what caused the plane to crash. A plane just doesn’t drop from the sky because it’s raining hard,” said Corboy & Demetrio Co-founder Thomas A. Demetrio in a statement.
Each passenger in the lawsuit was a Chicago resident, including a grandmother, her daughter and her two minor daughters; a mother and her son; a couple and their two minor sons, and another individual.
The 103 people in total on board the aircraft, including 97 passengers and 4 crew members, survived the crash by evacuating from the plane before it caught on fire. At least 65 passengers were U.S. citizens, many from the Chicago area. About 17 passengers sustained injuries.
Authorities in Mexico said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The attorneys filed six separate lawsuits on behalf of the 11 passengers with the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. The firm has nearly 60 years of experience in dealing with lawsuits in major airline disasters.
Partner Francis Patrick Murphy said while the weather is a factor, the pilot’s response also plays an integral part.
“However, safe flight operations depend on how the airline and its pilots monitor, respond to and correct for severe weather conditions, both in the preflight and inter-flight decision making process, in order to avoid a mishap,” he said.
Aeromexico did not immediately respond to a request for comment in regards to the lawsuit.