It Was an Accident! Determining the Appropriate Perspective to Assess Montreal Convention Personal Injury Claims

Abstract

On April 29, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Moore v. British Airways PLC held that an ordinary passenger’s expectations determine whether the cause of a personal injury during international flight constitutes an “accident” under Article 17(1) of the Montreal Convention. In so doing, the First Circuit created a majority approach to the issue—adopting the standard previously put forth by the Eleventh Circuit and rejecting the Fifth Circuit’s reli-ance on industry standards. This Comment argues that the First Circuit correctly adopted the Eleventh Circuit’s approach because it more closely aligns with the primary goal of the Montreal Convention—protection of consumers’ economic interests over that of international air carriers.