American Airlines and United Airlines should be held liable for the 11 Sept, 2001 attacks because they did not stop hijackers from entering the cockpits of the four hijacked planes, a lawyer for victims' families argued yesterday.
The hearing is critical because other families will await the outcome to help determine whether to join the litigation or seek payment from a national compensation fund.
The lawyer made his arguments in a hearing aimed at determining whether litigation can proceed against six groups of defendants, including American and United.
He said: "The airlines accepted the responsibility of preventing those people from getting into the cockpit. The airlines are responsible for the consequences. Negligence comes down to control of the planes."
But the airlines argue they should not be held liable because the unprecedented attacks were unforeseeable and they had followed safety measures required by the federal government.
American Airline lawyer Roger Podesta said: "No remotely similar event has ever happened in the history of aviation."
