Airbus sued by AirAsia crash families over defective systems

[BLOOMBERG] Airbus Group SE was sued by representatives of the families of 10 passengers who claim the plane maker is liable for their deaths after AirAsia Bhd Flight 8501 plunged into Indonesia's Java Sea in December.

The A320 plane was "defectively and unreasonably dangerous" and its systems didn't provide accurate weather, air speed and ice-accumulation information, according to a complaint filed June 19 in federal court in Chicago.

All 162 people aboard the plane, operated by the Indonesian affiliate of Malaysia-based AirAsia, died when it crashed Dec 28. The plane appeared to have stalled after climbing steeply, Indonesia's Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said in January.

"An official investigation to determine the cause of the accident is ongoing and Airbus is offering its full support," Sean Lee, a Singapore-based spokesman for Airbus, said about the lawsuit.

AirAsia, in an e-mailed response, said its "main priority has always been and remains on providing assistance for the families" of Flight 8501 passengers.

AirAsia will be added as a defendant to the lawsuit, the families' lawyer, Floyd Wisner, said in a statement Tuesday.

The case is Aris Siswanto et al v Airbus, SAS et al, 1:15- cv-05486. US District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).

BLOOMBERG