Federal Tort Claims

o Liability of the Federal Government

Aviation
Felder v. United States: a federal air traffic control tower employee permitted a small aircraft to take off behind a Boeing 707 which had occurred shortly before. Upon takeoff the Piper Comanche reached a point approximately 150 to 250 feet above the runway, pilot Felder lost control of his Piper Comanche because it encountered wake turbulence created by the recently departed Boeing 707. Felder’s plane flipped on its back abruptly, spiraled nose-down, and crashed without any possibility of pilot control.
Reported decision: 543 F.2d 657 (9th Cir.)

Baker v. United States of America: a private plane struck some “unmarked” high voltage wires. After some in depth investigation, Plaintiffs found that seven (7) years earlier, another plane struck the same wires at about the same location. Litigation is ongoing.

Watercraft
The United States Air Force provided a pleasure watercraft to be rented to the off duty servicemen. The watercraft’s throttle cable was defective, thereby killing one of the off duty servicemen when waterskiing. Litigation is ongoing.