Recent Developments

Indonesian authorities released a preliminary report regarding their findings into the crash of Lion Air Flight 610.  As mentioned in prior posts, early reports indicated that accident investigators were focusing on the aircraft’s new Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (M.C.A.S.) which is an automated system designed to prevent the aircraft from entering an aerodynamic stall.  The preliminary report confirmed that this was the investigators’ focus, although the report stated that it was still too early to identify a specific cause for the crash.

On April 20, 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration issued Emergency Airworthiness Directive (“AD”) 2018-09-51 that incorporated, in part, a Service Bulletin (“SB”) 56-7B 72-1033 issued by CFM International, S.A., the manufacturer of the engine that failed in-flight on April 17, 2018, that killed a passenger.  An AD is a rule published by the FAA that requires certain actions be completed for an aircraft to be considered airworthy. 

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015, a British Aerospace BAe-125-700A jet bearing serial number NA-0252, owned by RAIS Group International NC, LLC, crashed into a residential apartment building during its approach to Runway 25 at the Akron Fulton International Airport located in Akron, Ohio.  Tragically, all seven passengers, all principals and employees of south Florida-based Pebb Enterprises, were killed along with the flight crew.

The aircraft, which was being operated as a charter flight by ExecuFlight, Inc., departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida the day prior to the crash making stops in Minneapolis, Moline, St. Louis, and ultimately Cincinnati, Ohio, where the passengers and crew spent Monday evening.  The aircraft then departed Cincinnati for Dayton Tuesday morning, and was on its way to Akron, Ohio when the tragedy occurred.  

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and the cockpit voice recorder has been recovered and sent to the NTSB’s lab in Washington, D.C. for analysis.  No distress calls were received from the aircraft prior to the crash.  Parties to the investigation include Beechcraft Corporation who is the current type certificate holder for the accident aircraft as well as Honeywell International, the engine manufacturer.

The investigation will undoubtedly focus on the actions of the flight crew, mechanical issues, as well as weather in the vicinity of the airport at the time of the crash.  Weather was reported to consist of fog and mist with visibility of two miles.  The Akron Fulton International Airport is an uncontrolled airport, which means that there is no air traffic control tower located at the airport.  Air traffic control services are provided by Akron-Canton Approach Control for the airport.  The NTSB has interviewed a certified flight instructor who landed immediately prior to the accident aircraft. The flight instructor pilot reported that after landing he radioed the accident aircraft to advise that he "broke out [of the cloud layer] right at minimums." He further reported that the accident aircraft acknowledged this transmission by stating, "Thanks for the update." This was the last known communication from the accident aircraft.

Speiser Krause has represented numerous passengers arising from private jet charter operation crashes as well as involving the make and model of the accident aircraft.  There are a host of legal issues which could impact victims’ rights, including the application of the General Aviation Revitalization Act (“GARA”) which in certain circumstances can limit the ability to file suit against an aircraft or component manufacturer if the failed component is more than 18 years old.  The partners at Speiser Krause are available to answer any questions you have concerning this tragedy.

Partner Jeanne O'Grady to address the prestigious European Air Law Association on the availability of moral damages in global litigation arising from an aviation disaster.

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Partner Douglas Latto will be a featured speaker at the AVICON Aviation Insurance Conference discussing the plaintiff's perspective on aviation accident litigation.

The firm recently filed lawsuits on behalf of three families arising from the April 27, 2014 crash of a Piper PA 32R-300 aircraft that impacted an unlit wind turbine in Highmore, South Dakota.  The victims of the crash, young men in their 20's and 30's, were traveling as passengers and were returning home to their families from a trip to Texas.  At approximately 9:15 p.m. the aircraft impacted the unlit wind turbine, causing it to crash and killing all aboard.  Pursuant to various Federal Aviation Regulations and guidelines, the owner and operator of the wind turbine, NextEra Energy, was required to ensure that the wind turbine was lit.  If, however, the lighting system was not functioning, NextEra Energy was obligated to notify the local Flight Standards District Office of the outage so that a warning could be issued to pilots flying in the vicinity of the wind turbine that the light was not working.  Unfortunately, NextEra Energy failed in both of these obligations causing the aircraft to impact the unlit wind turbine.  The lawsuits, filed by each of the passenger’s widows in the Circuit Court of the 11^th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, seek all available wrongful death and survival damages as a result of this tragedy. 

On July 7, 2015, at approximately 11:00 a.m., a US Air Force F-16 collided in mid-air with a Cessna 150 approximately 25 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina.  The pilot and passenger of the Cessna were tragically killed while the pilot of the fighter jet ejected after the collision and is expected to make a full recovery.  The F-16 military aircraft was on a training mission between the Air Force base located in Sumter, South Carolina, and the Joint Base in Charleston which serves as a military and civilian airport.  The Cessna 150 had just taken off from the Berkeley County Airport which is located between the Sumter and Charleston bases. 

A holiday cruise turned tragic for eight passengers on board a sightseeing float plane which impacted a rock face in the Misty Fjord National Monument Wilderness.  On June 25, 2015 the vacationers from Maryland, California, Nevada and Oregon boarded a Promech Air de Havilland DHC-3CT Otter turboprop aircraft for a sightseeing excursion as part of their cruise on the MS Westerdam operated by Holland America Line.  The trip was part of a tour called CruiseFly which consisted of two groups of passengers from the MS Westerdam; one group that boarded the sightseeing aircraft and another that boarded a marine vessel.  The two groups then met at a floating dock in Rudyard Bay and switched modes of transportation to meet back at the cruise ship in Ketchikan, Alaska.  The crash occurred on the aircraft’s return leg to the cruise ship.

On March 9, 2015, Amtrak train number 80, the Carolinian, was headed northbound from Charlotte, NC and destined for New York when it derailed near Halifax, North Carolina after striking an oversized tractor trailer obstructing the tracks at a railroad crossing.

The tractor trailer, owned by Guy M. Turner, Inc., a multi-state trucking company headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, was being operated by John Devon Black, a Turner employee and convicted felon with a history of traffic violations. The mammoth rig, hauling a huge load of building material, was reportedly sitting across the tracks for up to 20 minutes prior to the crash as the driver attempted to navigate a turn onto another roadway. Because of the size of the load, the tractor trailer was being escorted across the tracks by the North Carolina Highway Patrol.