British Airways Flight BA038

PRESS RELEASE

Stewarts Law has commenced legal action in Chicago, USA against Boeing on behalf of passengers who suffered injury when a British Airways Boeing 777 crash landed at Heathrow Airport in January 2008. The law suit was lodged with the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, where Boeing is based.

The British Airways flight BA038 from Beijing to London violently hit the ground short of runway 27L at Heathrow, ripping off the landing gear, parts of the undercarriage and causing damage to the wings. The passengers suffered both physical and psychological injuries in the incident and are seeking damages for pain, suffering, emotional stress as well as financial losses.

Stewarts Law claim that at the time of the accident the Boeing aircraft was defective and unreasonably dangerous in a number of important respects. They allege that the aircraft had no system in place to prevent the build up of ice in its fuel or fuel feed pumps and claim that as a direct result of this, ice built up in the aircraft's fuel system catastrophically restricting fuel flow to both engines. This caused the aircraft to lose power and violently crash before skidding across the grass and tarmac at Heathrow airport.

Stuart Dench the Partner at Stewarts Law running the case said:

"Our clients are not critical of BA and feel that the pilots performed heroically in guiding the aircraft down in exceptionally difficult circumstances. However the two interim reports from the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) suggest design defects in the aircrafts fuel system and in particular its limitations in the prevention of dangerous ice build up. The passengers we represent are therefore prepared to take on Boeing in its home Court in Chicago, which is undoubtedly the most appropriate jurisdiction for this case.

Paul Stafford the Academic Director of International Development at Kingston University and one of the passengers to have filed against Boeing said that:

" I remember smashing into the ground and the undercarriage being forced through the wing by the impact . I was convinced that I was going to die. I think about the crash every day and wish it had never happened to me."

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Stuart Dench
Aviation Partner
020 7822 8036
sdench@stewartslaw.com

Alon Riza
Marketing Manager
020 7822 8037
ariza@stewartslaw.com