The Nation - News from May 3, 1989

Delta Air Lines is not liable for the deadly Aug. 2, 1985, crash of Flight 191 during a violent thunderstorm at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, a U.S. District Court jury in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., decided in the first case involving the carrier’s responsibility. Other juries around the nation have ordered damage awards to survivors and families of some of the 137 people who died in the crash, but only the value of lives, not the question of liability, was at issue. The suit that led to the judgment was brought by the family of Sidney Bernstein, 40, of Ft. Lauderdale, who was killed when the Lockheed L-1011 jet crashed.