Colgan Air, Pinnacle, Continental Absolved From Paying Cleanup Costs After Flight 3407 Accident

A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that absolves Colgan Air, Pinnacle Airlines, and Continental Airlines from reimbursing Erie County in New York State for expenses incurred in relation the aftermath of the accident involving Continental Connection Flight 3407.

The county had sued the airlines to recoup some $800,000 in expenses for emergency response and cleanup after the accident. In its complaint, the county said it "sustained unnecessary and unprecedented property and financial damage ... as a direct and proximate result of defendants' wanton, reckless, negligent and willful conduct."

But the Associated Press reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said "Absent an exception, the free public services doctrine plainly bars the county's claims to recover public expenditures."  The ruling upholds a decision reached in March 2012 by U.S. District Judge William Skretny to dismiss the county's suit.

According to court documents, the expenses included "overtime pay for police and emergency personnel, the cleanup and removal of human remains, the cleanup and removal of chemical substances originating from the aircraft, the cleanup and removal of the aircraft itself." The county also tried to recover equipment costs, as well as costs for counseling for relatives of the victims.

Colgan stopped flying in September of last year as part of Pinnacle's reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws.

FMI: www.ca2.uscourts.gov