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General Aviation and Helicopter Crashes
Hudson River Mid-Air Collision
On August 8, 2009 a Piper 32R-300 aircraft piloted by a
private pilot and a sightseeing tour helicopter operated by
Liberty Helicopters, Inc. collided over the Hudson River
causing the deaths of all on board each aircraft. In total,
nine individuals were killed; the pilot and two passengers
in the Piper aircraft, and the pilot and five tourists in
the helicopter. Baumeister & Samuels represented the
passengers in the Piper aircraft and, through its lawyers,
took the lead on virtually every deposition taken and the
preparation of the liability case against the defendants, as
well as being exclusively responsible for preparing the
damages case on behalf of our client whose family members
were killed in the crash.
Following two years of litigation, our client’s claims were
settled and the federal government paid a sum significantly
above 8-figures in one of the largest payments made by the
United States of America for the negligent conduct of its
air traffic controllers. During the discovery process of the
litigation, we determined that the air traffic control staff
at the Piper’s departure airport had violated many policies
and procedures prior to this tragic collision. One
controller failed to properly ensure the correct read back
of an instruction to the pilot of the Piper aircraft to
change radio frequency because he was engaged in an
inappropriate and non-pertinent personal telephone
conversation while simultaneously directing air traffic. His
supervisor, while on duty, improperly left the air traffic
control facility shortly before the mid-air collision to
conduct an unauthorized personal errand and was untruthful
to investigators during the post-crash investigation as to
his whereabouts. In addition to these failures and
violations, the pilot of the helicopter violated his
employer’s policies and procedures by flying above its
specific altitude ceiling requirements at the time of the
collision, and he also failed to observe the Piper while
operating under the Federal Aviation Administration’s Visual
Flight Rules (“VFR”) which required all pilots to “see and
avoid” all other aircraft operating in the area. These
failures lead Liberty Helicopters to make a substantial
financial contribution to the overall settlement. Our firm’s
extensive aviation experience in handling cases involving
mid-air collisions was vital in securing this extraordinary
recovery.
The mid-air collision presented complex legal issues,
including a complicated analysis of the Federal Tort Claims
Act, applicable Federal Aviation Regulations, and complex
state law and choice of law issues all of which required
extensive research and evaluation. Our lawyers also reviewed
hundreds of thousands of documents and conducted extensive
liability depositions before the defendants made a
determination that it was in their best interest to avoid a
public trial and they agreed to settle our client’s claims.
While the financial security we were able to obtain for our
client was important to her, even more important were
resulting changes made by the Federal Aviation
Administration to reclassify the Class B airspace over the
Hudson River by increasing the floor which were enacted on
November 19, 2009, sadly too late for our client’s loved
ones, but with the hope that no other family should have to
endure the same tragedy.
Raytheon Aircraft 390 Premier 1 Crash
Near Fulton County, Georgia
On December 17, 2013 at approximately 7:22 PM, a Raytheon
Aircraft Company 390 Premier 1 jet was cleared for takeoff
from Runway 26 at the Fulton County Airport-Brown Field
located in Atlanta, Georgia for a flight to New Orleans,
Louisiana. On board the jet was a pilot and a single
passenger. Witnesses reported that the pilot was seated in
the right seat of the flight deck while the passenger was
seated in the left, the seat specifically reserved for the
flying pilot. Immediately after taking off, the pilot
contacted air traffic control and advised that he was
experiencing a “problem” and requested a return to the
airfield. The controller on duty asked the pilot if he
wanted to declare an emergency, and he indicated that he did
not want to declare an emergency. The pilot was given
instructions to enter the right downwind for Runway 26 and
was told to follow landing traffic. No other transmissions
were recorded from the flight. The jet was unable to make it
back and was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain,
and was consumed by a post-crash.
We were able to negotiate a confidential settlement on
behalf of the passenger’s family without the necessity of
filing a civil lawsuit.
Crash
of Eurocopter BK117-B2
From 60th Street Heliport, New York City
On Tuesday, April 15, 1997, our client was piloting a
Eurocopter BK117 owned by Colgate-Palmolive. After taking
off from the 60th Street heliport in New York City, our
client climbed the helicopter to approximately 30 feet and
heard a loud bang. The helicopter rotated nose right several
times, descended, struck the heliport pier, and fell into
the East River where it submerged. Our client and the
co-pilot were evacuated underwater. The passengers were
found in the cabin and recovered by police divers. Our
client suffered serious injuries as a result of this crash,
including brain damage that ended his flying career.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the
accident. Their investigation revealed that the upper 3 feet
of the vertical fin had failed due to fatigue fractures and
separated, along with the tail rotor assembly. About four
and a half years before the crash, the left-hand yaw SAS
actuator mounting plate attached to the vertical fin
developed a crack and was replaced using blind rivets
instead of solid rivets as specified in the manufacturer's
design drawings. Neither the repair nor the substitution of
rivets was addressed in the manufacturer's maintenance
manual. Literature from the rivet manufacturer indicated
that blind rivets may be substituted for solid rivets in
most applications. No specific reference by the FAA was
found to allow for this rivet substitution. The
investigation further revealed 11 other helicopters with
fatigue cracking in the vertical fin spar similar to the
accident helicopter, and testing revealed that materials
fastened with blind rivets are more susceptible to fatigue
cracking than materials fastened with solid rivets.
We filed a lawsuit on behalf of our client against
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH, American Eurocopter
Corporation, MBB Helicopter Corporation, Daimlerchyrsler
Aerospace AG, sued as Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG, formerly
known as Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm GmbH. After several
years of discovery, we were able to secure a substantial
settlement to enable him to recover from his injuries
without complicating his recovery with financial burdens.
Bell 206 Helicopter
Crash in Ontario, Canada
On November 2, 2011, a Bell 206L helicopter, operated by
Sunrise Helicopters Inc., departed Kapuskasing, Ontario. The
aircraft was chartered by a forestry company for use on a
local timber survey flight to the south of Kapuskasing. Two
passengers employed by the forestry company, and our client,
the pilot, were on board the aircraft. The crash occurred
following the in-flight separation of one of the
helicopter’s main rotor blades which caused it to strike
terrain, fatally injuring all on board. Our firm was
retained by the family of the helicopter pilot and we were
able to negotiate a fair and just settlement on behalf of
his widow and young child with Bell Textron, Inc., and Bell
Textron Canada, Inc.
Bell 407 Crash in
Coolbaugh Township, Pennsylvania
On October 9, 2012, our client was a passenger on a Bell 407
helicopter operated by ACS Helicopters LLC. The helicopter
departed from Elmira/Corning Regional Airport in Elmira, New
York and was headed to Westchester County Airport in White
Plains, New York when it crashed into trees and terrain in
Coolbaugh Township, Pennsylvania. The pilot and one
passenger were fatally injured, and our client was seriously
and permanently injured. Shortly after take off, weather in
the area deteriorated, and the helicopter pilot advised our
client and the other passenger that they would not be able
to make it to their destination airport. The weather
worsened, and the pilot decided to divert to Pocono
Mountains Municipal Airport, in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.
Shortly after, the helicopter struck trees and terrain. The
NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident as
the pilot’s decision to continue visual flight rules flight
into instrument meteorological conditions due to
self-imposed pressure to complete the trip.
Our client spent months in various hospitals and
rehabilitation facilities, and required several surgical
procedures over the following year.
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