Insurer Pays Concorde Damage to Brooklyn Home

John and Annette Ferranti certainly did not feel they were in good hands with the Allstate Insurance Company, after Allstate refused to pay their homeowners damage claim they insist was caused by an Air France Concorde jet. The insurance company, which had wanted to appeal appeal a jury award of $1.15 million to the Mill Basin couple, finally agreed to pay the Ferrantis $995,000.

On July 21, 2002, the Ferrantis say that the Air France Concorde struggled to gain altitude over Jamaica Bay after taking off from JFK International Airport (their attorney also said, "We believe the pilot left his afterburner on longer."). After the supersonic jet buzzed their waterfront neighborhood, many people complained of cracked plaster and foundations. The Ferrantis said that shortly after the incident, water began seeping into their home during rain storms through cracks in the concrete blocks they used to build their 12-room home.

Allstate tried to fight to the claim, saying that it should have been invalidated because the couple didn't file it until 14 months after the incident. The company also suggested the concrete and steel home, which was built by John Ferranti, was poorly constructed and maintained. But perhaps five years of legal wrangling - and the prospect of another verdict in favor of the couple - was too much.

Both Air France and British Airways stopped flying their respective Concorde jets in 2003. Coincidentally, a British Airways Concorde is parked right near Jamaica Bay at Floyd Bennett Field, while the aircraft carrier Intrepid is being overhauled.