Case against Airbus fails

Flight attendant Fuzzy Maiava was flung into the ceiling and wants $6.2m for injuries and psychological harm that have left him unable to work and in chronic pain. Photo / Michael Craig

A terrifying roller coaster ride in the sky turned Fuzzy Maiava's life upside down. Six years later, the ride goes on.

The North Shore grandfather is one of two Kiwis taking a class action lawsuit against Airbus and aviation technology giant Northrop Grumman after a Perth-bound Qantas A330 nosedived twice over the Indian Ocean in 2008.

Maiava, a flight attendant, was flung into the ceiling and wants $6.2 million for injuries and psychological harm that have left him unable to work and in chronic pain.

Maiava and fellow Kiwi flight attendant Jenaya McKay's case took its own nosedive this month when a US judge ruled our ACC scheme prevented Kiwis from suing. Many of the 315 people on board have settled after Airbus and Northrop Grumman chose not to contest liability.

Maiava's US-based aviation lawyer Floyd Wisner said an appeal was planned after the October 9 ruling.

Maiava has received just over $200,000 from ACC since the incident.

Neither Airbus nor Northrop Grumman would comment, but ACC Minister Nikki Kaye said the law did not stop Kiwis taking legal action overseas.

As for Maiava, his disappointment over the decision was lifted by the birth last week of a grandson.