Only in America

Not content with being part of what is widely considered a “miracle of the modern age”, some of the passengers of US Airways Flight 1549—all of who survived—are already talking about legal action and “compensation” for (as yet undefined) trauma and suffering.

In the “wake” of the crash, US Airways was quick to compensate all the aircraft’s passengers for lost luggage and personal effects, by ensuring that each passenger received US$5,000 in cash (this is $1,700 more than the “standard” $3,300 figure that the US Dept of Transportation requires airlines to cover in such circumstances).

While most passengers are simply grateful to be alive, and appreciative of US Airways’ apologies for inconvenience and the airline’s frequent follow-up personal contact to ensure everything has been done to assist them, and for its generosity in providing money so promptly, there are already reports that a number of passengers have sensed the opportunity for a quick buck and begun seeking legal advice as to how to sue US Airways—or anyone else they think they might reasonably be able to extort money from through the US court system.

One would think any decent person who had survived such an event would spend the rest of his or her life thanking whatever god he or she prayed to, and working hard to pay for expensive Christmas presents for Captain Sullengberger and his crew every year for the rest of their lives. Instead, it appears likely that “Sully’s miracle” might well become known as the “Sullied Miracle” as greedy opportunists hold the airline (and anyone else they can sink their claws into) to ransom.

Pacific Wings lends its voice to the chorus of those who condemn such morally repugnant avarice.