Rather than warning its passengers that such trips come with risks, the lawsuit says, Holland America merely requires floatplane excursion operators — most of which are independent businesses — to add the cruise line company to their insurance policies.
All of the flight’s passengers had been aboard Holland America’s ship Nieuw Amsterdam, which was docked in Ketchikan as part of a seven-day “Alaska Explorer” cruise, according to the lawsuit. The fatal Aug. 5, 2021, crash came as Lanzendorfer was trying to return to Ketchikan to get his passengers to the Holland America ship before it departed at 4 p.m. According to weather reports cited in the lawsuit, the cloud ceiling was as low as 600 feet that day.
“They use these exciting excursions to sell cruises,” said Atlanta attorney Ranse Partin, the lead plaintiff attorney.
They bring $$$ to AK but the industry is evil.