PLONKA v. U.S. AIRWAYS, 2:13-cv-07560

Plonka was seated in economy on US Airways Flight 702 (A330-200) from Philadelphia to Frankfurt; an FAA-approved in-flight entertainment (IFE) box was affixed under the seat in front of him.
During takeoff Plonka’s leg struck the IFE box and he sustained a leg injury.
Airbus installed the IFE boxes per an FAA-approved design; US Airways did not alter the installation and multiple passengers were similarly seated behind IFE boxes.
Plonka sued US Airways under the Montreal Convention seeking damages for bodily injury.
The parties’ material facts were undisputed; US Airways moved for summary judgment claiming no "accident" caused the injury as required by the Montreal Convention.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Plonka’s injury was caused by an "accident" under art. 17 of the Montreal Convention	Plonka contends he was injured and US Airways should be liable for the injury	US Airways argues the injury resulted from the normal, expected configuration/operation of the aircraft (FAA-approved IFE box), not an unexpected external event	Court held no "accident": injury stemmed from normal, expected aircraft configuration, so carrier not liable
Relevance of FAA-approved design to "accident" determination	Plonka did not dispute the design approval but argued injury merits recovery regardless	US Airways relied on FAA approval and widespread, expected presence of IFE boxes to show the event was not unusual or unexpected	Court treated FAA-approved, common design as evidence the event was not unexpected; therefore not an "accident"

Air France v. Saks, 470 U.S. 392 (1985) (defines "accident" as an unexpected or unusual external event and instructs flexible, contextual analysis)
Olympic Airways v. Husain, 540 U.S. 644 (2004) (clarifies that cause of injury, not mere occurrence, must satisfy "accident" definition)
Eastern Air Lines, Inc. v. Floyd, 499 U.S. 530 (1991) (explains Montreal/Warsaw Convention liability framework for passenger injury)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) (summary judgment standard: no genuine dispute of material fact)
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986) (nonmovant’s burden to present specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial)
Terrafranca v. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., 151 F.3d 108 (3d Cir. 1998) (three-part test for carrier liability under Montreal Convention)
Santini v. Fuentes, 795 F.3d 410 (3d Cir. 2015) (summary judgment burden allocations and evidence construction)
Potter v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 98 F.3d 881 (5th Cir. 1996) (aircraft seat configuration found not an unexpected or unusual event)
Phifer v. Icelandair, 652 F.3d 1222 (9th Cir. 2011) (FAA requirements relevant but not dispositive to "accident" analysis)