Delta agrees to pay $79M to settle lawsuit after jetliner dumped fuel on schools

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FILE - Student Marianna Torres, 11, center, cries as she evacuates Park Avenue Elementary School after jet fuel fell on the school in Cudahy, Calif., Jan. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

LOS ANGELES – Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay $79 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed in 2020 after one of its airplanes that was experiencing engine trouble dumped its fuel over schoolyards and densely populated neighborhoods near Los Angeles.

The Delta jet had departed from Los Angeles to Shanghai on Jan. 14, 2020 when it needed to quickly return to Los Angeles International Airport. The Boeing 777-200 landed safely after circling back over Los Angeles while dumping 15,000 gallons of fuel to reach a safe land