Aviation
o Commercial
News Helicopter Crash
On July 27, 2007, our client Richard Krolak, was tragically killed after the aircraft
he was aboard crashed and caught fire in mid-air, and violently dove into the ground
at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix, Arizona. Decedent Krolak was a photojournalist
for Channel 15 News. On that tragic Friday in July, Channel 3 and Channel 15 News helicopters
N6131TV and N215TV, respectively, collided in mid-air while maneuvering. Upon impact,
both helicopters broke into pieces and spun to the ground. All occupants of both helicopters were killed.
Litigation is still on-going.
Charles M. Brewer was appointed by the Federal District Court Judge as one of
the five-member team to investigate one of the nation’s worst air disasters;
the 1987 crash of the Phoenix – bound Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in
Detroit, herein 156 people were killed. This firm achieved multimillion dollar
settlements of the clients he represented by suing the airline and aircraft
(Northwest Airlines) manufacturer (McDonnel Douglas).
o Private
Instructor Pilot
Altman v. Mesa Airlines/ Arizona State University: On April 13, 2003, Defendant
Instructor was utilizing Mesa Air’s Beechcraft Bonaza A-36 N323D for flight instruction
of Mesa Air’s student pilot, the decedent. Another student pilot was seated in the front
seat along with his instructor and pilot-in-command; while decedent was only a passenger in
the rear seat of the aircraft. As pilot in command, the instructor had the absolute duty to
oversee a safe operation of the aircraft. (14 C.F.R. § 91.3). On this same date and time,
decedent, was instructed and directed to take off in said aircraft from the Sedona Airport en
route to Williams Gateway Airport, Phoenix Arizona under the direct supervision and final authority
and control of Mesa Air’s agent and employee. Decedent, under the direct supervision of the instructor,
attempted a take off from the Sedona airport runway at approximately12:30 p.m. Pursuant to witness testimony,
the aircraft was “trying” to takeoff, however, it was only able to lift off the nose gear about two to
three feet in an extreme nose high attitude. As the airplane was attempting take off, the landing gear
remained on the runway which eventually struck a 12 foot chain link fence at the southern boundary of the
airport at the end of the runway of the airport boundary which drops off to a shear cliff of 400 feet. After
dropping off of the cliff, the aircraft then continued down into the ravine exploded and impacted the opposite
mesa thereby killing all occupants in a horrific fiery death.
Keyes v. All out Aerial: On February 22, 2006 a Robinson R22 helicopter was destroyed during an uncontrolled
descent and collision with desert terrain, about 8 miles north of Scottsdale, Arizona. The helicopter was being
operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area instructional flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the
accident occurred. The certificated flight instructor, seated in the left seat, and the passenger, seated in the
right seat, sustained fatal injuries. The accident helicopter was operated by All Out Aerial of Scottsdale.
Litigation Still On-going.
Wake turbulence
Felder v. United States: Lufthansa German Airlines was engaged in performing
“touch and go” landings for training purposes at the airport, utilizing
a Boeing 707 aircraft. The tower personnel at the airport were aware that touch
and go landings by a plane of the size, speed, and weight of a Boeing 707 would
expose a following light plane to wake turbulence caused by wing tip vortices.
The tower did not issue any cautionary warning, or advise Felder of the take-off
of the 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, spiralled nose-down, and crashed without any possibility
of pilot control.
Reported decision: Felder v. U.S., 543 F.2d 657
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Aircraft line strikes with high voltage electrical wires
A private aircraft was flying at and around the Santan Mountains (East Valley-Queen
Creek, Arizona), when it struck some unmarked low-hanging high voltage power
lines. Via investigation, this firm was able to locate a pilot that struck the
exact electrical line seven years earlier. The pilot and one passenger died
in the accident, while another received severe and permanent injuries. Litigation has been complete and a confidential settlement occurred.
Spatial disorientation
Anderson Aviation v. Perez: A private aircraft was rented from Sky
Harbor Airport (Phoenix) on route to Blythe Airport. When the airport in Blythe
reported a power failure, the pilot attempted to land at the Blythe Airport,
despite the lack of runway lighting. While attempting to land the plane on this
pitch-black night, the pilot became spatially disoriented (unable to distinguish
up from down or left from right) and crashed his plane, where he and his passenger
perished.
- Set forth the controlling law regarding Negligence Per Se (Negligent as a
Matter of Law- for violation of safety standard intended for public safety).
Reported decision 507 P.2d 87
Flight Manual Inadequacies and/or training
A pilot ran out of gas on the right engine and because of the loss of control,
the Beech Baron was caused to crash. Plaintiffs recovered a seven-figure settlement
for a 55 year old man with only five hours flying time in the Baron because
of the inadequacies of the flight manual on emergency procedures and the flight
spin characteristics of the Beech Baron itself.
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A v-tail Bonanza, took off from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona in gusty
conditions, and after a three minute flight crashed in a backyard, killing a
little girl and slightly injuring her father. A seven-figure verdict was obtained
even though the pilot tested positive for cocaine and some of the survivors
were in possession of drugs.
Faulty design and product
A student pilot, after losing part of his propeller tuned back to the airport
instead of going straight ahead, crashing and killing himself and a passenger.
A large seven-figure settlement was obtained against the plane manufacture despite
student pilot’s lack of training
