Warren v. Flying Tiger Line, Inc.

S.D. California

Warren v. Flying Tiger Line, Inc.

234 F. Supp. 223, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8182

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California

DecidedSeptember 21, 1964

Docket63-301, 63-1530, 64-318, 64-336

StatusPublished

Cited by10 cases

This text of 234 F. Supp. 223 (Warren v. Flying Tiger Line, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Warren v. Flying Tiger Line, Inc., 234 F. Supp. 223, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8182 (S.D. Cal. 1964).

Pincite

Opinion

CARR, District Judge.

These 4 cases in admiralty seek damages under Section 761 of Title 46, U.S.C., for the wrongful death of certain military passengers who were aboard a Flying Tiger Line plane traveling from Travis Air Force Base in California to Saigon, Vietnam. These cases were consolidated for trial on the issue of the applicability of the Warsaw Convention. 1

On March 14, 1962, Flying Tiger Line, hereinafter referred to as “FTL,” flight No. 7815/13 departed Travis Air Force Base, California, at approximately 5:45 a. m., carrying 96 passengers — 92 members of the armed services of the United States, 3 Vietnamese soldiers, and one person in civilian clothes. The status of this passenger is not entirely clear. The 92 United States soldiers were destined for the Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, Vietnam, by way of Honolulu, Wake Island, Guam, and Manila. The Military Air Transportation Service of the United States, hereinafter referred to as “MATS,” had entered into a service order *225 and call agreement with FTL for the transportation of the 96 passengers. Pursuant to the service call and agreement, the airship, a Constellation, was ferried from San Francisco to Travis by FTL and the servicemen were there assembled for boarding for the trip.

On March 14, 1962, the servicemen appeared at the MATS window with their orders and were processed and they were given a MATS boarding pass and a MATS claim check. They went to the boarding gate where they were checked through by military personnel. They then proceeded to the ramp of the plane at which point a stewardess passed to each a ticket which is sometimes in the record referred to as a boarding ticket. The passengers then entered the plane and chose their seats since no prearrangement for seats was made. Very shortly thereafter a stewardess went through the emergency procedures and at that time told the passengers that they should write their ticket number on their claim check.

The tickets which had been prepared by FTL did not contain the names of the passengers and were given to the stewardess who distributed them at the ramp of the plane as the passengers approached to board the plane. The evidence indicated that the stewardesses were under instructions that no passenger was to board the plane without a boarding ticket. In fact, these instructions were in writing which stated: “Under no circumstances will any passenger be permitted aboard an FTL aircraft without a Boarding Ticket.” [Emphasis original.]

Stewardess Hernandez testified that she distributed boarding tickets to all of the passengers at the foot of the ramp to the plane. She and 3 other stewardesses were relieved at Wake Island and thereby escaped the catastrophe.

The evidence relating to the'control of the plane and the flight established that Max Oldford, the station manager for FTL at Travis, prepared the flight plan and prepared boarding tickets without the names of passengers on them. The boarding tickets were prepared on a duplicating machine. Usually approximately 10% more tickets were prepared than the estimate supplied by MATS of the number of passengers. Approximately 20 minutes prior to boarding time, Oldford delivered the manifest to an FTL employee aboard the plane. MATS determines the destination, the official stopping points, the time of departure, and also designates the passengers.

FTL staffs and maintains its planes. FTL pilots operate the planes, and FTL employees attend to all phases of service on the plane while en route.

The flight in question is generally referred to as a chartered flight arranged between MATS and FTL. The service and call agreement does not mention the Warsaw Convention. It does provide that FTL is to be paid by MATS on a per passenger basis.

The plane proceeded to Honolulu, Wake Island, and arrived at Guam at 15/1114 and departed there at 15/1257, supposedly traveling to Clark Air Force Base, Manila. The last word heard from the plane was at 1422 GMT, approximately one hour and a half after it had departed from Guam. Thereafter the plane disappeared and has not been heard from since.

The boarding pass issued by MATS did not contain a reference to the Warsaw Convention. The boarding ticket passed out to the servicemen at the foot of the ramp to the plane made reference to the Warsaw Convention both on the front of the ticket and in the conditions on the back of the ticket, which is set out as follows:

*226 Front

*227

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI