Category : Aviation Accidents
Three Telsa Employees Killed in Small Plane Crash in California
Employees at Tesla Motors are mourning the tragic death of three of their co-workers in a plane crash near Palo Alto yesterday.
According to news reports, the plane was on its way to Los Angeles from Palo Alto. The twin engine Cessna 310 crashed soon after take off. The plane struck a power tower, and one of its wings was clipped off. The wing fell on a nearby residential structure. Three employees, who have not yet been identified, were killed. However, there were no injuries on the ground. Residents in nearby areas however had their power supply cut off. According to news reports, the plane took off in foggy weather conditions.
The national aviation safety record which seemed to be soaring to new heights just two years ago, seems to be getting marred by an increasing number of crashes. California in particular, has been affected by several small plane crashes. Just last month, a plane carrying scientists from the California Department of Fish and Game were killed when the plane they were on crashed. In that crash, the plane got entangled in a few power lines and crashed into the ground, bursting into flames on impact. Two scientists and the pilot of the plane were killed.
It’s too early to comment on the possible casuse of this particular crash. Investigators will likely look into the prevailing weather conditions at the time of the crash and the possibility that foggy weather and poor visibility impacted the accident. This crash is just one more reminder that although there have been great strides made in aviation safety, there still continues to be risks associated with air travel, many of which are entirely preventable
Aviation safety also has been a major focus of attention for the media, plane crash lawyers in California as well as federal aviation safety agencies. The Federal Aviation Administration has come under particular fire for its failure to adopt key safety recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The beginning of 2008 saw at least two high profile crashes in the US. While one ended in a miraculous escape with no injuries or fatalities, the other one ended in tragedy with all people on board killed. The crash landing of the US Airways flight on the Hudson River was blamed on a bird hit. While bird hits are extremely common, they have become a source of concern to airport and plane safety officials. The Buffalo crash of a Colgan Air plane however, has been blamed on crew failures. That crash had focused a lot of attention on key factors like pilot fatigue, and lack of pilot skills and training.
Poorly paid pilots at regional carriers was also the focus of a special hearing by the National Transportation Safety Board. Regional carriers suffer from a number of issues like poorly trained and paid pilots. Passengers use these carriers often via strategic partnerships with the larger national carriers. The risks to passengers, who in many cases are not even aware that they will be traveling on a regional carrier, can be high.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of aviation accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
Helicopter Crash in California Leaves Four Dead
Four people were killed yesterday in a helicopter crash in the Sierra National Forest, including 3 biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game.
According to the New York Times, the crash occurred in a canyon near the Redinger Lake. The Bell 206 helicopter seems to have hit a power line, setting the craft ablaze. Three scientists of the California Department of Fish and Game, as well as the pilot, were killed in the crash. The debris from the fire was scattered across a quarter mile, and recovery efforts were severely hampered by the flames. Apparently, the scientists were engaged in a routine aerial mission, and were studying feeding patterns of deer near the Fresno and Madera counties border at the time of the crash.
According to representatives of the California Department of Fish and Game, the helicopter had been contracted from Landells Aviation of Desert Hot Springs. This was the second helicopter crash involving a Landells helicopter over the past 3 years. In January 2007, there had been another helicopter crash involving a Landells helicopter in the Tulare County foothills. However, the occupants survived that crash with minor injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board is getting involved in the investigation into that crash. The California Department of Fish and Game meanwhile has grounded all aerial surveys.
Investigations into this helicopter crash will likely consider the mechanical condition of the helicopter. Considering that the helicopter was so severely damaged in the blaze, the NTSB investigators may find they have quite a task ahead. The NTSB investigation will also focus on the pilot, his flying record, experience, history of aviation incidents and other factors.
California plane crash lawyers typically see that these two are the main factors involved in air crashes. Air travel over the years has become increasingly sophisticated and safe. However, considering the kind of technological advancements that have been made, California aviation accident lawyers continue to see an inordinate number of aviation accidents every year, involving small private aircraft, commercial airliners and helicopters. Unfortunately because of the massive impact of any aviation accident, occupants of the aircraft are more likely to be killed, than to survive. Even if there are survivors, the injuries may be severe, and leave the victim with massive trauma and anguish.
A case in point is DJ AM, or Adam Goldstein, who was involved in a fiery plane accident in South Carolina. Goldstein and former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker were on a plane that was taxiing down the runway at a South Carolina airport, when a tire blew out, causing the pilots to lose control, and ending in a fire. Barker and Goldstein were the only two survivors of the crash. Two other passengers and the two pilots were killed. Barker and Goldstein suffered serious burn injuries that left them fighting for their lives at a burn center. A few months later, Goldstein died of an alleged drug overdose. His mother claims the trauma of the plane crash caused Goldstein to relapse into drug addiction, leading to his subsequent death.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of plane accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
Air Traffic Controller was on Personal Phone Call Before Midair Plane Crash
According to government transcripts, an aircraft controller at New Jersey Teterboro Airport was bantering on the phone with a woman in the airport office, just before the aviation accident that killed 9 people earlier this month.
On August 8th, a private helicopter with tourists on board and a small plane crashed in midair, and both aircraft plunged into the Hudson River. The plane had three members of a family from Pennsylvania, and the helicopter had five Italian tourists and a pilot. All died in the accident.
Now, transcripts show a conversation between an aircraft controller at the New Jersey Airport with the woman, who is believed to have been an employee of Baltimore-based AvPORTS. According to transcripts that have made available to the news media, the personal banter began with one phone call that ended just 12 minutes before the pilot of the Piper airplane told the tower that he was ready to take off. The air traffic controller directed the small plane towards the Hudson River, and then handed off responsibility for the small plane to Newark Airport. The controller then called the woman back. He continued the conservation, which included plenty of talk about a cat that a woman had apparently picked up from airport property. The conservation continued until the controller was contacted by a controller at Newark, who was worried about other aircraft traffic in the path of the small airplane. Seconds later, the controller learnt that the small plane had crashed. The controller has been identified as 38-year-old Carlyle Dwayne Turner.
Last week, both Turner, as well as his supervisor. 55-year-old Dennis Moore were placed on administrative leave by the Federal Aviation Administration. Turner’s actions in the minutes before the crash have been the focus of attention. Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board said that Turner should have warned the small airplane pilot of the tourist helicopter before he transferred control to a Newark tower. However, since then the agency has clarified, saying that Turner was probably unable to see the helicopter on the radar at this time.
The NTSB also noted that the controller was busy with a personal phone call at the time that alarm signals were going off, warning of an accident. The agency has said that Turner’s and air traffic control’s role in this accident will be determined by the agency investigation.
Distracted Air Traffic Controllers are a Plane Crash Risk?
As of now, the Federal Aviation Administration believes that there is no reason to suspect that Turner’s actions contributed to the crash. There is no evidence to indicate that his personal phone call in any way increased the risk of an accident. The National Air Traffic Controller Association has also defended Turner saying that the controller did everything he was required to do to prevent a collision. However, everybody seems to agree that Turner was amiss in making a personal phone call on the job.
Whatever the results of the investigation into this tragedy, we believe that it has helped place important focus on the risks caused by distracted air traffic controllers.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of plane accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
Plane Carrying California Passengers on Ski Trip, Crashes in Montana
A plane that was taking a group of fourteen people, including children, from Oroville in northern California to Montana on a ski trip crashed into a cemetery in Montana killing all aboard. The small, private, single engine turboprop plane burst into flames as it crashed into a cemetery near Butte.
According to technicians at an Oroville airport, where the plane was on the ground for about half an hour before take off, there were at least a dozen children on board the plane. Details are slowly emerging about the victims of the plane crash. Initially, no one even knew if the people on board were California residents, but now it appears that the victims were all indeed from California. They have now been identified by the Seattle Times as Michael and Vanessa Pullen of Lodi, and their children, Sydney and Christopher, Erin and Amy Jacobson of St. Helena, and their children, Taylor, Ava, and Jude, who was just a year old; and Brent and Kristen Ching of Durham and their children, Heiley and Cale. The victims were all friends, and included two sisters, Amy and Vanessa, shareholders of the Oregon-based company that owned the plane, Eagle Cap Leasing.
The pilot of the aircraft, Buddy Summerfield, had about 8,500 hours of flying experience. He does not seem to have given any indication that the plane was in trouble of any sort as he attempted to land the plane at Butte. The plane’s earlier destination was Bozeman, but the pilot seems to have changed it to Butte. Federal Aviation Administration officials, who are investigating the crash, are speculating that the pilot may have experienced problems with the aircraft, and therefore attempted to make an emergency landing at Butte.
The plane also seems to have been built for carrying just eight people, and was carrying more passengers than it was capable of. This is also being examined as a possible factor in causing the crash. With more people and a greater amount of luggage on board, the pilot appears to have had problems maintaining the balance and pitch of the plane. Overloading the plane, according to aviation experts, can cause the center of gravity to shift making it harder for the pilot to control the plane. Ice buildup on the plane’s wings is also being considered as a possible reason for the crash. Just last month, a turboprop plane crashed in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board. In that particular aviation accident, ice buildup on the plane’s wings is being looked into as part of investigations. Turboprop planes have an older technology to eliminate ice accumulation on the wings, causing ice to build up unchecked. Even small layers of ice are enough to caused a significant shift in the plane’s center of gravity.
This was a private plane crash, but it is only the latest in a series of aviation accidents that have plagued air travel this year, starting with the Denver crash of a commercial plane, that injured several, the crash landing of a US Airways flight on the Hudson River in January, and the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in a suburb in Buffalo that killed 50 people, including one person on the ground.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of plane accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Families of Navy Personnel File Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Helicopter Crash
The families of three of the Navy personnel who were killed in a helicopter crash in 2007 have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against the manufacturer of the helicopter. The MH-60S Seahawk crashed into the Pacific Ocean on January 26, 2007 and navy investigations have been unable to determine the cause of the accident.
On January 23rd of this year, the families of three personnel who were killed that day filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the makers of the helicopter as well as manufacturers of parts. The lawsuit alleges failure to warn, negligence, wrongful death, survival actions and product liability. The lawsuit has been filed against the Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., which manufactured the helicopter involved in the crash, as well as a string of other companies who are responsible for manufacturing components of the helicopter. These companies include General Electric Corp, lcoa Global Fasteners, Hi-Shear Corp, Pacific Scientific, Parker-Hannifin Corp, and Sikorsky Support Services Inc. The lawsuit doesn’t mention a specified amount. The family of the fourth Navy officer, copilot Laura Mankey is not included in this wrongful death lawsuit.
This was the first fatal aviation accident involving the MH-60S Seahawk. Just a few months after that crash, however, another MH-60S crashed in Guam. One person was killed in that crash. On the day of the first fatal accident in January of last year, the helicopter took off from the assault ship Bonhomme Richard. It was just before noon. Just minutes after the flight took off, the crew made emergency calls for help. A few minutes later, the helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
Investigations conducted into the helicopter crash were inconclusive. Nine months after the probe began, investigators were unable to determine what exactly caused a helicopter to plunge more than 1000 feet into the sea.
The investigative team’s report claimed that there was no evidence or sign of culpability, and no sign of any negligence by any of the crew. For the families of the four victims, it has been hard to believe that an exact cause of the accident is impossible to determine. They believe that something went wrong with the tail rotor system of the helicopter. Loss of rotor drive has been mentioned as a possible cause of the crash by the investigative team, but other investigators who reviewed the findings were unconvinced that the rotor system had anything to do with the crash. However, they were not able to provide details about why they disagreed with that assumption.
Now the three families want a trial by jury, as well as to be allowed to conduct their own private probe of the crash. It’s easy to understand why the families of the victims want some kind of closure. They deserve to know what happened that day and an official investigation that gives them absolutely no clues about how their loved ones died can give them no cause for comfort. More investigations need to be done in this aviation accident to ascertain the cause of the helicopter crash.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of aviation accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Another Lawsuit Filed in Travis Barker Plane Crash Lawsuit
There has been a round of lawsuits filed relating to the plane crash in South Carolina that injured musician Travis Barker, and his friend DJ AM, and killed four others, including the pilot. Now, in the most recent addition to the lawsuit spree comes one filed by the charter operator and the company that owned the plane. The operator Global Exec Aviation Inc and owner of the plane, Inter Travel & Services Inc have filed a lawsuit against the company that manufactured the plane, the company that manufactured the tires that have played a major role in causing the crash as well as the Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina where the crash occurred.
Learjet which manufactured the plane, has been named in the lawsuit for building a poorly designed plane, and the lawsuit specifically mentions faulty brake systems. Goodyear Tires finds a mention because of its defective tires. The crash was apparently caused by a burst tire as the plane was preparing to take off. The airport has been mentioned for its failure to prevent the “calamitous” and hazardous conditions that contributed to the aborted take off ending in a fiery explosion. Barker, a former musician with Blink 182 and DJ AM suffered serious burn injuries in the crash. Barker’s bodyguard Charles Still, and his assistant Chris Baker, were killed in the accident. The first lawsuit that was filed was the one by Barker, which blamed the charter company and others for his injuries. His lawsuit also mentioned Still’s mother as a plaintiff. The widow of Chris Barker filed a wrongful death lawsuit a few weeks later. DJ AM filed an injury lawsuit against Goodyear, Learjet and the operator and owner of the jet. Earlier, reports claimed that DJ AM had also sued the estates of the two pilots who died in the crash, but he later denied these rumors.
The latest lawsuit by the plane’s owner and charter company brings the total number of lawsuits filed after the crash to 5. The suit is claming $12 million in damages. Investigations into the crash are not yet complete, but there have been reports that suggest that there was a tire malfunction before the pilots decided to abort take off. Cockpit recordings made in the moments before the crash seems to suggest that the pilots were aware of the tire blow out. Pieces of the blown out tire were recovered thousands of feet away from the spot where the plane began to taxi down the runway. The airport has been blamed for a faulty design that lowered the amount of space that the plane had to make a stop, as well as fencing that ended up damaging the plane’s fuel tanks. There was also an embankment circling the runway which ended up causing the plane to crash into it.
We are not likely to know the exact details of the plane crash until the National Transportation Safety Board completes its investigation and that could take months.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of tire defects and plane accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
DJ AM Files Lawsuit in Plane Crash
A few weeks after former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker filed an aviation accident lawsuit against the companies that owned and operated the plane and others, the only other survivor of the fiery South Carolina crash has filed a lawsuit of his own.
The plane crash occurred in a South Carolina airport when Barker, DJ AM, and others were in a private jet and headed back to Los Angeles. According to reports, one or more of the plane tires burst as the plane was taxiing down the runway. The pilots aborted takeoff, and soon the plane had erupted into flames. DJ AM and Barker escaped by literally jumping through a huge fireball, and sliding down the plane’s wing. The two pilots died, as did Barker’s long time personal assistant, as well as his bodyguard.
DJ AM’s lawsuit names Clay Lacy Aviation, Global Exec Aviation, Inter Travel & Services, Goodyear and Learjet, all the aviation companies that were involved in the crash. It also names the estates of the dead pilots. It claims that the pilots knew at the time the plane was taxiing down the runway that the tires had blown out, and decided to abort take off. It claims, as does Barker’s lawsuit that the pilots were negligent in their actions, and this contributed to the crash. DJ AM is claiming pain and suffering, property damage, lost earnings, medical and health expenses both past as well as any future expenses, and punitive damages.
DJ AM’S lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits that have resulted from the high profile plane crash. The mother of Barker’s bodyguard was also named in his lawsuit, and she claimed for funeral expenses, and lost wages. The wife of Barker’s long time PA Chris Baker has also filed a negligence and wrongful death lawsuit. She names the same companies that were named in the earlier lawsuit, as well as the estates of the pilots who died in the crash. She filed the lawsuit on behalf of herself and her son, claiming unspecified damages.
Barker, when he filed his lawsuit a few weeks ago was adamant that if the accident was caused by somebody’s fault, then they should be held accountable for it. His lawsuit only mentions the aviation companies for their defective plane, and does not name the pilots’ families, although it did blame them for their negligence and insufficient training. With DJ AM following closely behind to throw his weight behind legal action against the companies that were responsible for the accident, it’s clear that we can expect to hear more about this case in the days ahead.
It’s also clear that it’s not monetary compensation that these men are after. With cushy careers in the entertainment business, they don’t need compensatory damages, and it’s likely that any damages they win will be given to a charity. Barker himself has only claimed damages of $25,000, which is negligible for a case of this magnitude, and proves this point further. All they want is some accountability for the horrible aviation accident they went through.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of plane accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
Travis Barker Files Aviation Accident Lawsuit Against California Charter Company and Goodyear
In the days since the fiery aviation accident that left him with severe burn injuries, former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker has spoken to the Los Angeles entertainment media about the way his life has changed after the plane crash. He couldn’t go swimming anymore, he said, and couldn’t do so many of the things that other people find normal. So the news that the musician has filed an aviation accident lawsuit against Global Executive Aviation, the California-based company that owned the plane, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., hasn’t really come as a surprise. The suit, filed more then two months after the plane crash also names an airplane maintenance company for its part in the September accident.
On the 19th of September, Barker, along with his assistant Chris Baker, and bodyguard Charles Monroe Still Jr., was part of a group on board a Learjet that crashed during take off at an airport in South Carolina. The plane burst into flames, leaving the former Blink-182 drummer with intense burn injuries. Both Baker and Still were killed in the crash. Barker’s lawsuit is shared with Charles Monroe Still’s mother, who is claiming compensation for grief and sorrow, funeral expenses, as well as loss of earnings. According to Huffington Post, Barker’s lawsuit names pain and suffering, loss of earnings, and medical and legal expenses. Barker spent four painful weeks in a Los Angeles hospital recovering from his extensive third degree burn injuries, before he was discharged. His recovery is far from complete, and he has asked for privacy to recover in peace at his home.
According to the lawsuit, the pilots of the plane were improperly trained, and should have attempted to take off instead of continuing down the runway until they eventually overshot it. Goodyear has been named because the plane was equipped with its tires, which were found after the plane accident to have been nearly bald, and suspected to have blown just before the airplane burst into flames. The lawsuit alleges as much, claiming that the tires failed, strewing fragments of burnt tire all along the runway. The lawsuit also alleges that components of the airplane, including the brakes, landing gear and wheels were not well maintained. Bombardier Inc., a Toronto-based airplane maintenance company, has been named in the lawsuit for poor maintenance of the aircraft.
The lawsuit is not entirely unexpected, and considering the severity of his injuries and the evidence of the plane’s poor condition, Barker looks ready to receive the compensation he’s entitled to. It appears that the musician isn’t only looking for monetary compensation, but to seek justice for the kind of suffering he underwent as a result of his burn injuries. Barker, who has two young children and blogged about his post-crash experiences on his MySpace page, has clearly been scarred physically and emotionally by the crash, and hence his need to hire a Los Angeles aviation accident lawyer to hold persons he holds responsible for his suffering, accountable.
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of aviation accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.