The 288 survivors of Asiana Flight 214, which crashed while landing at San Francisco last month, have each been offered $10,000 emotional trauma compensation by the airline.
The crash on July 6th happened when a Boeing 777 on route from Seoul in South Korea hit a seawall while making its final approach into San Francisco International Airport. Two passengers died in the crash and a third passenger also died when she was tragically run over by a fire truck coming to extinguish the fire which broke out in the plane after the crash.
181 passengers were taken to hospital after the accident – where 49 still remain in serious condition – and despite the US National Transportation Safety Board having yet to conclude their report into how the crash happened, Asiana Airlines have already offered each of the 288 survivors initial emotional trauma compensation of $10,000.
The offer of emotional trauma compensation is non-conditional and will be paid irrespective of whether a passenger suffered a physical injury or not in the crash or not. In accordance with the Montreal Convention, passengers accepting the initial compensation offer will still be eligible for further payments for both their physical injuries and psychological injuries from the airline
However, how much compensation for an air crash each passenger receives will be subject to their nationality, where they were travelling from and whether their flight was one-way or the second leg of a return trip, as higher levels of air crash compensation apply to US citizens who bring legal action in the United States than European or Asian citizens who may have been travelling on vacation.
It may also be the case that Asiana Airline´s offer of compensation for an emotional trauma is premature, as the psychological injuries sustained by each of the passengers may not be known for many months.