But until Wednesday, it was ready to assert the opposite in cases involving domestic passengers, the majority of the 139 en route from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field. The airline had steadfastly denied that it had flown into a thunderstorm or that its pilots' actions had been anything less than safe. Until Thursday, it had contended that the FAA air traffic controller on duty that night should at least share the blame. Now all of that is changed. The admission of liability is not a blank check for the survivors suing the company.
Punitive damages are another matter.
Attorneys representing passengers said Thursday that, if American is hoping that its qualified admission of guilt will block evidence to a jury of the extent the crew was responsible, it is in for a fight. Ted Boswell, co-counsel for a group of lawyers leading the litigation against American, said he'd been expecting the liability admission and wasn't fazed by it. It's a procedural attempt by American Airlines for these cases to be tried without the details of their crew's actions reaching a jury's ears. Boswell said American's timing was curious. The plaintiffs' expert witnesses have given three weeks of depositions.