Qantas passengers on board an Airbus A330 when it nosedived in 2008 have been awarded up to £250,000 compensation each.
The out-of-court settlement has been made with 144 passengers who were on the flight from Singapore to Perth when it plummeted 690ft twice in October 2008, reports the Daily Mail.
But sixteen passengers who suffered the most severe injuries are launching a class action, where one applicant represents a group, in the United States against Airbus and aviation technology company Northrop Grumman.
Passengers hit the ceiling of the cabin and others who were not wearing seat belts were thrown about the aircraft when the plane plunged.
Lawyer Floyd Wisner said injuries included psychological trauma, fractured vertebrae, broken bones and cuts.
A malfunctioning computer has been blamed for the incident, resulting in the wrong altitude being received by the aircraft’s computers.
Northrop Grumman had since modified the technology.
By Diane Evans
