Problem
Discuss the merits of all plausible tort claims raised by this scenario. The idea is to apply the concepts of duty, breach, causation, proximate causation, defenses, strict liability, and so on.
In the middle of a Delta flight across the country, the pilot notices that the heater for the part of the cargo hold that contains passengers' animals has failed. Unfortunately, the hold contains two dogs and three cats. As it happens, one of the dogs is particularly frail and is on its way to an animal hospice that takes care of dogs that are about to die.
The pilot faces a choice: she can land the plane, costing Delta hundreds of thousands of dollars and delaying the 120 passengers by several hours, or she can continue the flight, posing a grave risk to the pets in the cargo hold. She estimates, roughly correctly, that each pet has a 50% chance of living if she continues the flight normally. Her radio, which, like the cargo heater, is a standard part of the Boeing airplane she's flying, appears to have failed, so she has to make a decision without contacting anyone else. She chooses to continue the flight normally. At the end of the flight, both of the dogs and one of the cats are found dead.