On December 23, 1983, a Korean Air Lines (KAL) DC-10 and a South-central Airways (SCA) Piper Navajo collided on a runway at Anchorage International Airport, causing extensive property damage. This crash gave rise to our opinions in State v. Korean Air Lines, 776 P.2d 315 (Alaska 1989), and State v. Oriental Fire and Marine, 776 P.2d 776 (Alaska 1989), as well as this opinion. This action was initiated against KAL by the owners of the cargo in the KAL DC-10 and their subrogated insurance carriers. The appeal involves whether the trial Judge properly granted the motion of the cargo owners and their subrogated insurance carriers for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The jury had found that the action of KALs flight crew had constituted wilful misconduct but that the misconduct was not the legal cause of the accident. Judge Hunt granted the JNOV motion, holding that after concluding the evidence established wilful misconduct by the defendants, fair-minded people exercising reasonable judgment could not differ in concluding that KALs wilful misconduct was a legal cause of the crash. KAL appeals the granting of the JNOV motion. We affirm.
