In Re Aircrash Disaster Near Monroe, Michigan on January 9, 1997

OPINION AND ORDER

FEIKENS, District Judge.

1. Background

On January 9, 1997, Comair flight # 3272, air service from Cincinnati to Detroit, crashed near Monroe, Michigan as it began its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport. All 26 passengers and three crew members on-board were killed. Representatives of 28 decedents sued two main defendants: Comaii', Inc. (“Comair”), the airplane operator, and Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica, S.A. (“Embraer”), the manufacturer of the plane. 1

These cases were originally filed in both state and federal courts across the country. Embraer removed…