Century Tours dismissed from lawsuit over 2012 plane crash

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona on Tuesday dismissed Century Tours Inc. from a lawsuit filed by survivors of a Star Marianas aircraft that crashed at the Francisco C. Ada International Airport in 2012, leaving one passenger dead and the pilot and five other passengers injured.

Manglona dismissed without prejudice the negligence claim against Century Tours after the plaintiffs and Century Tours agreed to the dismissal.

Manglona said Century Tours’ pending motion to dismiss is denied as moot.

Dismissed without prejudice means the plaintiffs can re-file the claim in the future.

In their stipulation for dismissal, Century Tours, through counsel Steven P. Pixley, and plaintiffs’ counsel John K. Courtney and Mark B. Hanson disclosed that Pixley informed plaintiffs that the company had absolutely no relationship with the passengers during the crash.

Pixley told Hanson and Courtney that Century Tours did not book any of the plaintiffs on the Star Marianas flight that crashed at the airport on Nov. 19, 2012.

The parties agreed that if discovery shows potential liability of Century Tours, the company waive any defense based on the statute of limitations.

The plaintiffs are Xiaojie Ge, Weilian Lu, Yixia Ge, Xin Hong, Meilin Zhou, Xiaohua Zhou, and Xiuzhong Zhu, all Chinese citizens.

Xiaojie Ge is also representing his wife, Lu, who was killed in the crash.

The plaintiffs are suing the pilot, Jae Choi, Star Marianas Air Inc., Marianas Air Travel, Tinian Transportation Management Solutions Inc., Tianing Travel Agency, Top Development Inc., and 100 unnamed co-defendants, for negligence, wrongful death, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

In addition, they are suing Star Marianas for fraud.

They plaintiffs are suing for unspecified damages, compensation, attorneys’ fees and court costs.

Hanson stated in the complaint that the plane—a 7-passenger Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six operated by Star Marianas Air, chartered by Marianas Air Travel, and maintained by Tinian Transportation Management Solutions—was departing the Saipan airport on its way to Tinian to shuttle the six passengers to the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino as part of a package put together by Tianing and Top Development.

Hanson said while taking off, the plane lost power and nosedived into the trees adjoining the north side of the runway, where a fire ensued.

He said the crash and subsequent fire injured pilot Choi and five of the passengers, while Lu was killed.