Survivor of Jet Crash Sues Singapore Airlines

A Santa Monica man who survived the flaming crash of a Singapore Airlines jet in Taiwan last week filed suit in Los Angeles federal court Tuesday, blaming the pilot for the mishap.

John Diaz, 50, an executive with the Internet music company MP3.com, is the first victim to sue over the crash that killed 82 people.

Diaz charged in his complaint that the pilot of the Los Angeles-bound flight acted recklessly when he took off from a runway closed for reconstruction during a driving rainstorm.

The Boeing 747 barreled into a concrete block and a construction crane as it hurtled down the runway at Chiang Kai-shek airport in Taipei. The plane, carrying 179 people, burst into flames and broke into three pieces.

Diaz and other passengers were trapped inside the burning cabin, unable to open a jammed escape hatch. Finally, the Southern California executive threw his body against the door and it popped open, allowing those inside to escape.

But Diaz suffered damage to his lungs and back, according to the suit, filed by attorney Frank M. Pitre of Burlingame.

“The crash is a tragic example of bad judgment,” said Pitre. “The pilot ignored typhoon weather conditions, made a turn onto the wrong runway and sealed the fate of those passengers aboard his flight.”

James Boyd, a Singapore Airlines spokesman, said the carrier had not been served with the lawsuit and could not comment.

Diaz’s suit seeks unspecified general and punitive damages.

In a telephone interview after the Oct. 31 crash, Diaz said he had misgivings about taking the flight because of the stormy weather. He said airline representatives laughed and told him not to worry.

As it prepared for takeoff, he said, the plane picked up speed, started to lift, “and then bang! It felt like we ran into a brick wall.”

Crash investigators are focusing their probe on whether the closed runway, which runs parallel to the plane’s assigned runway, was improperly lit, inviting the pilot to make his fatal choice, Kay Yong, managing director of the Taiwan Aviation Safety Council, told the Associated Press Tuesday.

Yong said investigators have heard conflicting reports about whether the lights along the side of the closed runway were on, indicating to the pilot that he could use it.

Inspection of the wreckage indicated nothing was technically wrong with the plane, he said.

Taiwan authorities have ordered the pilot and two co-pilots to remain in the country indefinitely to help with the investigation, Singapore Airlines said. Their movements have not been restricted and their passports have not been confiscated, the airline said.