Accident to the Airbus A320-211, registered D-AIPX and operated by Germanwings, flight GWI18G, on 03/24/15 at Prads-Haute-Bléone

According to the BEA, they will release the final report on Germanwings 9525 on Sunday, March 13, 2016 during a press briefing. I plan to be there.

Although the public has not seen the final report, and indeed, as the investigation has not yet even been completed, the world already understands what happened aboard this tragic flight. What we really do not understand—and perhaps never will—is what drove Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to research cockpit door security and methods of committing suicide. We do not know what drove a depressed human being to impel the plane and all the lives in his safekeeping into the side of a French mountain, condemning every soul aboard that plane to death. We do not know the devils that hounded him into this cold-blooded act. We only mourn, perhaps, his loss of humanity, as we mourn alongside the grieving families who have been robbed of their loved ones and their rightful lives.

All passenger/families received a total of 8 million euros, divided equally among them. Media reports on what passengers received from Lufthansa varies.

In the German media, the Rheinische Post claimed officials of the German airline said families of the 144 passengers have obtained different compensation amounts. It is also reported that Lufthansa group has paid 11.2 million euros ($12.48 million) to the families. Additional “uncalculated” compensation in “property damages” is still coming from Lufthansa to the families.

This compensation…coming from Lufthansa, whose 2014 profit was declared “flat” at a mere $31.7 billion, announced in October of 2015 a nine-month net profit of €1.75 billion ($ 1.97 billion), up 262.7% from €482 million. The tragedy which destroyed 150 lives, and crippled all of their families appears to have left Lufthansa’s bottom line untouched.

Do we also mourn and grieve and condemn Lufthansa? The depth of the ethics and principals of this many billion dollar company—the largest airline in Europe—remains to be seen. We can ask ourselves if this is a high-principled company of good repute, of sterling honor. We need not conjecture long. A tangible answer will be obvious when these decisions are made. We will see where lie their priorities when we learn how they treat the families whose lives hang in the balance in their custodianship.

The post Lufthansa: Safekeeping Profits or Passengers? first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The MH17, en-route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed on July 17 in the Ukrainian airspace. It is presumed that the plane crashed after it was shot by a surface-to-air missile fired from Donetsk region of Ukraine. All 298 people aboard the plane were killed in the crash.

According to media reports, the mother of a German victim has claimed that the government of Ukraine did not close the airspace during military conflict because of millions of dollars which the country makes through foreign commercial flights. She has filed the case in the European Court of Human Rights, asking for about $1 million as a compensation for the suffering she had to endure.

Renowned German lawyer Elmar Giemula, who is a professor of aviation law, will be presenting the case in court.

The post MH17 Crash: Mother of German Victim Sues Ukrainian Government first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The small Aero Commander 500 aircraft, registered to Fairway-based Central Airlines, crashed into the elderly couple’s house immediately after departing from Midway International Airport, Chicago. The pilot of the plane, 47-year-old Eric Howlett, lost his life in the crash, while Raymond and his wife remained uninjured.

According to Matthew Jenkins of Corboy & Demetrio, “While thankfully Roberta and Raymond did not suffer any physical harm, the emotional trauma has been devastating to them…Hearing, seeing and feeling an airplane crashing just inches away from them has caused severe emotional distress.”

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court on November 25, lists Central Airlines, Inc. as the defendant.

This is an update of ‘Small Plane Crashes into House Near Chicago Midway International Airport’.

The post Midway Plane Crash: Elderly Couple Files Lawsuit Against Airline first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The families of four of the others, Rivera’s deceased publicist, makeup artist, hairstylist and attorney filed a wrongful death lawsuit in January 2013.

The pilot exceeded the age limit for the kind of license he obtained from Mexico, a fact for which Mexico’s civil aviation holds Mexico accountable. The pilot and co-pilot also died in the crash.

The plane’s owners were Starwood Management LLC and its parent company, Rodatz Financial Group.

The plane took off from Monterey and crashed within fifteen minutes.

The post Jenni Rivera Flight Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in LA first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Listen, I’ve heard some bad things about some planes but the descriptions I saw of this plane are so vivid I remember them, even though its been nearly five years. Frankly, the description sounded straight out of Romancing the Stone like the bus that takes Kathleen Turner (romance novelist Joan Wilder) to Cartagena, Colombia—crowded to the gills, livestock inside, seats rolling around, standing room only, everything that was portrayed in the movie, except (one hopes) people hanging off the outside of the plane. This rickety plane, which failed to meet safety standards continued to be in use until it crashed one stormy night in 2009.

Now, five years later, France is charging Yemenia Airlines with manslaughter.

I wonder at the timing. Apparently Yemenia Airlines is no longer on the EU banned list.

I wonder if they waited for Yemenia Airlines to become more solvent before they charged them.

I wonder if International Lease Finance Corporation is going to be held accountable. They leased the plane to Yemenia; and, like a father who hands his fifteen year old the keys to his car, they could have taken away the keys, or withheld them till the plane was brought up to code.

I wonder if the delay was five years worth of research, and maybe evidence found.

I wonder if another accident or enlightening incident happened that pointed the finger at Yemenia.

I wonder if it was pressure from the families of the 153 passengers and crew (and little Bahia Bakari the twelve year old miracle survivor) aboard that international flight from Sana’a, Yemen to Moroni, Comoros that crashed on 30 June 2009.

Pressure from the families brings change. I have a lot of confidence in family groups. Plane crash victims are united by a common cause, a cause which is ethical and pragmatic and yet impossible, because they are seeking justice when there can really be none. Because all these people want, if they could have their way, would be to have their loved ones back. They have the power of right on their side; and to make a galvanizing cause even more magnetic, they are fighting for the safety of every future airline passenger. I wish my friend Hans Ephraimson-Abt, who died last October, could be here to witness the charges being brought. He lost a daughter when her plane was shot down in 1983, and ever after made it his business to advocate for families. I think of him now because up until October, whenever I’d post an editorial concerning crashes, or family groups, he would always write back with encouragement, or some pithy bit of advice.

Maybe I should be objective. After all, helping families in crashes is my business. But when you’re on the front lines of aviation safety trying to get better treatment for victims and the families of victims, it doesn’t take long to feel very personal. There are a lot of people who saw those headlines that France is charging the carrier with manslaughter who think that after four and a half years, it is about time. I just hope that somehow the 152 victims—and Hans—could know that the responsible parties may yet be held accountable.

The post Will Yemenia Airways Be Held Accountable at Last? first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Bennell worked for CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix, which had a training-services agreement with KLS.

The complaint states that the training agreement between CAE and KLM “had financial incentive awards and penalties associated with the number of training flights provided to KLM flight students,” contributing “to a culture whereby safe flight practices were sacrificed for economic gain.”

The accident occurred on Sept. 13, 2012. The student pilot,Lucas Westenberg, 19, from the Netherlands, and Rob Van Den Heuvel, a 68-year-old retired KLM flight officer and former Dutch air force fighter pilot died in the same accident.

Taylor Bennell died in the crash. He was licensed by the FAA but not the JAA (in Europe); but without JAA certification, regulations forbade Bennell to teach. But Bennell had allegedly been ordered to provide Westenberg with flight instruction.

The post Father of Deceased Pilot Sues KLM Flight School first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

After nothing was done to stop the man, seventeen year old Monica Amestoy returned home to California to file a lawsuit against United Airlines.

The incident happened last year.

Although Monica complained to a flight attendant, United failed to safeguard Monica. Subsequently, United took no action and are surely guilty of neglecting the welfare of their passengers.

On landing in Los Angeles, UA failed to immediately report the criminal activity. Monica reported the incident to her father and he contacted law enforcement. After the investigation, the FBI prosecuted and convicted the perpetrator.

Gloria Allred filed the suit in Los Angeles county superior court.

Video

The post Teenager Sues Masturbation Airlines first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Stout pleaded guilty to seven counts of conspiracy and mail fraud.

His sentencing will be June 24.

See CRIMINAL NO. 12-394 below:

The post Flying Tigers Inspection Fraud Scheme first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Flight: 28 July 2010, Airbus A321, Air Blue Fight 202, en route from Karachi to Islamabad

146 passengers and 6 crew members flew into a mountain near the airport. Witnesses wondered why it seemed as if “the plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down.”

Why it was flying so low? Why did it strike the mountain? Audio and a report were released that seemed to answer those question—lack of coordination in the flight crew.

Our study of the audio indicates the pilots are served tea early on, then…

• Confusion ensues in the cockpit, caused by some unknown reason.
• Wrong settings introduced into the settings that were already abnormal.
• A tower operator who had gone for coffee was complacent.
• Aircraft flew lower than normal.
• Abnormal personality traits/interaction reflecting mistakes in the cockpit.
• Weather and apprehension and strange out of norm complacency by the FO when he realizes they are going to die

When the audio was released and studied, it became clear there was no teamwork between the pilot Perve Iqbal Chaudhary and the first officer Muntajib Ahmed.

The pilot had 35 years and more than 25,000 hours of flying experience but made inexplicable mistakes and demeaned the co-pilot. The first officer was aware of the danger and tried to amend the situation but he had been so disheartened beforehand by sharp questions putting the first officer “in his place.”

He was unaccountably meek for a former F-16 Pakistan Air Force fighter pilot. The pilot did not properly respond to Air Traffic Control directives and automated cabin warning systems and flew the plane into a mountain. Air Traffic Control responses were less than professional. The first officer appeared helpless and ineffective.

On January 17,2013, two and a half years after the accident, the Peshawar High Court closed proceedings for the Airblue compensation case.

Counsel was directed to withdraw the client’s petition from the Islamabad High Court or the the Peshawar High Court. The client refused to do so on the basis that the cases were different. The court closed the case because the heirs of the victims had had filed an independent lawsuit at Islamabad High Court.

We believed the Airblue compensation case had merit. The pilot committed the error. The first officer was ineffective. They were Airblue employees.

Yes, there was pilot error, but the airline is doubly responsible, because the flight crew did not have adequate CRM training. (COCKPIT Resource Management/Crew Resource Management) Absolutely what happened in the case was the result of the airline failing to establish a working protocol.

It’s like children at school practicing a fire drill so they know what to do when a crisis occurs. Fire drills save lives. They prevent missteps in the face of danger. They give the people in trouble a set of directions to follow that will get them out of the jam they are in. A drill answers questions ahead of time, so precious time is not wasted figuring out what to do. Without the drill, what happens when disaster strikes? Chaos. Loss of life.

I feel bad for the people. First they lose their families. Then they don’t get all the compensation available to them.

Take a look at the safety recommendations from the report (pasted below).

See how 3.1-3.5 and 3.7 all duplicate the same working environment issue? Investigators recognize the troubled working environment. Today’s flight crews are taught CRM which means they have safe practices in place in case the captain is incapacitated and starts to fly into mountains like the captain of Air Blue 202.

But realistically, will recommendations change AirBlue? Will Air Blue be able to implement non-traditional interpersonal relations on the job? And if they can not, how will they ever fly safely with a first officer culturally unable to do his job?

The first officer was ineffective in securing the plane; and sadly, the court appears to be equally as ineffective in getting justice for some of the heirs of the victims.

Re: Investigation Report -AB-202 CHAPTER – 13 :

SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS

13.1 All aircrew be re-briefed on CFIT avoidance and Circling Approach procedures
and a strict implementation of this procedure be ensured through an intensive
monitoring system.

13.2 Aircrew scheduling and pairing being a critical subject be preferably handled /
supervised by Flight Operations.

13.3 The implementation of an effective CRM program be ensured and the syllabus of
CRM training be reviewed in line with international standards.

13.4 Existing aircrew training methodology be catered for standardization and
harmonization of procedures.

13.5 Human factor / personality profiling program for aircrew be introduced to predict
their behaviour under crises.

13.6 Instrument landing procedure for RWY-12 be established, if possible.

13.7 Safety Management System be implemented in ATS as per the spirit of the ICAO
document (doc. 4444).

13.8 New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA) be completed and made functional on
priority

13.9 Visual augment system (Approach Radar Scope) be installed in control tower to
monitor the positions and progress of aircraft flying in the circuit.

13.10 Review of the existing Regulations for the compensation and their expeditious
award to the legal heirs of the victims be ensured.

13.11 Adequacy of SIB resources comprising qualified human resource and equipment
be reviewed.

13.12 Information to public on the progress of the investigation process through the
media by trained / qualified investigators of SIB be ensured on regular intervals.

13.13 NDMA be tasked to acquire in-country airlift capability for removal of wreckage
from difficult terrain like Margalla etc. As an interim arrangement, some foreign
sources be earmarked for making such an arrangements on as and when
required basis.

13.14 Civil Police Department be tasked to work out and ensure effective cordoning and
onsite security arrangements of crashed aircraft wreckage at all the places
specially remote / difficult hilly locations.

13.15 Environment Control Department be directed to recover the ill effects of
deterioration / damages caused to Marghalla hill due to the crash.

The post Air blue Crash Heirs Case Hits Immobile Object first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Flight: 28 July 2010, Airbus A321, Air Blue Fight 202, en route from Karachi to Islamabad

146 passengers and 6 crew members flew into a mountain near the airport. Witnesses wondered why it seemed as if “the plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down.”

Why it was flying so low? Why did it strike the mountain? Audio and a report were released that seemed to answer those question—lack of coordination in the flight crew.

Our study of the audio indicates the pilots are served tea early on, then…

• Confusion ensues in the cockpit, caused by some unknown reason.
• Wrong settings introduced into the settings that were already abnormal.
• A tower operator who had gone for coffee was complacent.
• Aircraft flew lower than normal.
• Abnormal personality traits/interaction reflecting mistakes in the cockpit.
• Weather and apprehension and strange out of norm complacency by the FO when he realizes they are going to die

When the audio was released and studied, it became clear there was no teamwork between the pilot Perve Iqbal Chaudhary and the first officer Muntajib Ahmed.

The pilot had 35 years and more than 25,000 hours of flying experience but made inexplicable mistakes and demeaned the co-pilot. The first officer was aware of the danger and tried to amend the situation but he had been so disheartened beforehand by sharp questions putting the first officer “in his place.”

He was unaccountably meek for a former F-16 Pakistan Air Force fighter pilot. The pilot did not properly respond to Air Traffic Control directives and automated cabin warning systems and flew the plane into a mountain. Air Traffic Control responses were less than professional. The first officer appeared helpless and ineffective.

On January 17,2013, two and a half years after the accident, the Peshawar High Court closed proceedings for the Airblue compensation case.

Counsel was directed to withdraw the client’s petition from the Islamabad High Court or the the Peshawar High Court. The client refused to do so on the basis that the cases were different. The court closed the case because the heirs of the victims had had filed an independent lawsuit at Islamabad High Court.

We believed the Airblue compensation case had merit. The pilot committed the error. The first officer was ineffective. They were Airblue employees.

Yes, there was pilot error, but the airline is doubly responsible, because the flight crew did not have adequate CRM training. (COCKPIT Resource Management/Crew Resource Management) Absolutely what happened in the case was the result of the airline failing to establish a working protocol.

It’s like children at school practicing a fire drill so they know what to do when a crisis occurs. Fire drills save lives. They prevent missteps in the face of danger. They give the people in trouble a set of directions to follow that will get them out of the jam they are in. A drill answers questions ahead of time, so precious time is not wasted figuring out what to do. Without the drill, what happens when disaster strikes? Chaos. Loss of life.

I feel bad for the people. First they lose their families. Then they don’t get all the compensation available to them.

Take a look at the safety recommendations from the report (pasted below).

See how 3.1-3.5 and 3.7 all duplicate the same working environment issue? Investigators recognize the troubled working environment. Today’s flight crews are taught CRM which means they have safe practices in place in case the captain is incapacitated and starts to fly into mountains like the captain of Air Blue 202.

But realistically, will recommendations change AirBlue? Will Air Blue be able to implement non-traditional interpersonal relations on the job? And if they can not, how will they ever fly safely with a first officer culturally unable to do his job?

The first officer was ineffective in securing the plane; and sadly, the court appears to be equally as ineffective in getting justice for some of the heirs of the victims.

Re: Investigation Report -AB-202 CHAPTER – 13 :

SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS

13.1 All aircrew be re-briefed on CFIT avoidance and Circling Approach procedures
and a strict implementation of this procedure be ensured through an intensive
monitoring system.

13.2 Aircrew scheduling and pairing being a critical subject be preferably handled /
supervised by Flight Operations.

13.3 The implementation of an effective CRM program be ensured and the syllabus of
CRM training be reviewed in line with international standards.

13.4 Existing aircrew training methodology be catered for standardization and
harmonization of procedures.

13.5 Human factor / personality profiling program for aircrew be introduced to predict
their behaviour under crises.

13.6 Instrument landing procedure for RWY-12 be established, if possible.

13.7 Safety Management System be implemented in ATS as per the spirit of the ICAO
document (doc. 4444).

13.8 New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA) be completed and made functional on
priority

13.9 Visual augment system (Approach Radar Scope) be installed in control tower to
monitor the positions and progress of aircraft flying in the circuit.

13.10 Review of the existing Regulations for the compensation and their expeditious
award to the legal heirs of the victims be ensured.

13.11 Adequacy of SIB resources comprising qualified human resource and equipment
be reviewed.

13.12 Information to public on the progress of the investigation process through the
media by trained / qualified investigators of SIB be ensured on regular intervals.

13.13 NDMA be tasked to acquire in-country airlift capability for removal of wreckage
from difficult terrain like Margalla etc. As an interim arrangement, some foreign
sources be earmarked for making such an arrangements on as and when
required basis.

13.14 Civil Police Department be tasked to work out and ensure effective cordoning and
onsite security arrangements of crashed aircraft wreckage at all the places
specially remote / difficult hilly locations.

13.15 Environment Control Department be directed to recover the ill effects of
deterioration / damages caused to Marghalla hill due to the crash.

The post Airblue Crash Heirs Case Hits Immobile Object first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Sunwing may bring charges against the family for the cost of diverting the plane. ($50,000) The plane was examined in Bermuda after landing and continued to the Dominican Republic a day late. Sunwing is banning the family from every flying their airline again.

The son allegedly smoked in the bathroom, then a disagreement between his family and flight attendants ensued. Pilots landed in Bermuda and the family was arrested.

David McNeil Jr denied smoking on the plane and the charge was dropped, but the father, David McNeil Sr. pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and the mother, Donna McNeil pleaded guilty to disobeying a lawful order from a flight attendant. The parents were sentenced to either a $500 fine or 10 days in prison. The son was free to go.
Raw Video below

The post Sunwing Airlines Dumps Unruly Family in Bermuda for (Alleged) Smoking And Disobeying Flight Attendants first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Jenni Rivera was killed in the crash along with the 78 year old pilot and 20 year old co-pilot, neither of whom appeared to be licensed to operate the flight under the conditions (time and altitude) they were flying.

The post Lawsuit Filed in Jenni Rivera Crash first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Lepore and Paladino are to be retried Monday.

Audio from the flight in YOUTUBE below

Read More

• Four Year Sentence
• GOL: Brazilian Court Rules Negligence
• Brazil’s GOL Report
• Gol Investigation Findings Released
• Pleas for Brazil to Drop Criminal Investigation
• Gol Goes On and On
• GOL – NTSB Report September 29, 2006
• GOL Passenger List

The post Gol: US Pilots to Face Retrial in Absentia first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Following the verdict, Southlake Aviation’s President, David Disiere praised the jury’s decision, “twelve citizens saw through a smoke-and- mirrors defense put on by the CAMAC’s attorneys and clearly found that CAMAC caused my company to loose a $43 million dollar aircraft in a greedy scheme that violated the U.S. Trading With The Enemy Act.”
The jury heard riveting testimony from a diamond trader involved in the scheme describing how CAMAC executives Kase Lawal, Mickey Lawal, and Kamoru Lawal arranged to exchange two-oversized suitcases stuffed with six-and-half million dollars in cash for ten boxes of gold delivered by General Bosco Ntaganda’s armed forces.

An investigation of the smuggling incident by the United Nations Security Council found that CAMAC and its three top executives, Kase Lawal, Mickey Lawal, and Kamoru Lawal were dealing with “individuals operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and committing serious violations of international law involving the targeting of children or women in situations of armed conflict.”

Kase Lawal, Mickey Lawal, and Kamoru Lawal who are Nigerian American brothers invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination hundreds of times during their testimony in the case.

Houston energy executive, Kase Lawal the former CEO of CAMAC International and the current CEO of the publically traded CAMAC Energy Inc. was appointed to a White House Trade Advisory position by President Obama and serves on the boards of the Houston Port and Airport Authorities.

David Disiere, the Dallas business executive and owner of Southlake Aviation, told the jury how he was shocked to get a call in the dead of night informing him that his company’s 43-million dollar Gulfstream V jet aircraft loaded with ten boxes of gold had been confiscated in Goma by authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on February 5, 2011. The jury’s verdict also included compensation of more than 535-thousand dollars for repairing damage done the to the aircraft’s interior passenger compartment during the loading of the gold.

Because Southlake Aviation’s aircraft was confiscated in the Congo, VFS Financing a subsidiary of General Electric, automatically placed Southlake Aviation’s loan to purchase the Gulfstream V in default, accelerated the entire balance, and repossessed the aircraft.

Testimony in the case and the investigation by the United Nations also indicated that former Houston Rocket’s basketball star Dikembe Mutombo acted as an intermediary in the gold smuggling scheme.

Testimony in the case showed that David Disiere had never met the Lawal brothers. Disiere testified that CAMAC had signed a three-year lease for Southlake’s Gulfstream V jet and claiming it would use the jet was to travel between its Houston headquarters and oil operations in Nigeria.

The jury agreed with David Disiere’s testimony that CAMAC and its officers violated the terms of the aircraft’s lease by using it in an outlaw region of Africa.

The post David Disiere Southlake Aviation Awarded $32-Million Damages in Congo Gold Smuggling Case first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Click to view or download lawsuit below

The post Fraud Lawsuit Filed first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The 2011 rules say that the price shown in an ad must be “the entire price to be paid by the customer.”

The case had been brought by Allegiant Travel Co (ALGT.O), Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) and Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.O), and was supported by the industry’s trade association.

Consumers have been unable to comparison shop ticket prices since 2008, when airlines began charging fees for services that previously had been included.

The industry’s trade association does want consumers to know that taxes and government fees make up about 20 percent of a ticket’s total price.

The post Plane Ticket Prices in US Court of Appeals first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

In the Dana Airlines crash, both of the MD-83’s engines failed before it crashed into several buildings in Nigeria

The chief engineer of Dana Air was also aboard the plane when it crashed. Employees of Dana airlines have said that owners were aware that the jet had mechanical troubles struggling on a Calabar flight;, but the crew was forced fly anyway, and fly it loaded to the hilt with passengers and luggage.

Captain Oscar Wason is saying there may have been a bird strike. The black boxes have been recovered and will be sent to the US. The black boxes will have the truth.

Joy Allison worked for Federal Express.

The post Husband Files Dana Air Flight 992 Lawsuit first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: GE Engines in Sikorsky S-61N helicopter
Where: Portland Courtroom
When: Aug. 5, 2008 crash, March 28, 2012 Jury decision
Who: 9 crash fatalities
Why: The Aug. 5, 2008 crash occurred after a loss of power in the No. 2 engine shortly after takeoff from a nearly 6,000-foot-high mountaintop in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Co-pilot William Coultas of Cave Junction, his wife, Chris, and the widow of pilot Roark Schwanenberg, 54, of Lostine were awarded $37 million and his wife $4.3 million by the jury, while the estate of Schwanenberg was awarded $28.4 million, according to The Associated Press. The jury placed 57 percent of the blame on GE, but also found the helicopter’s owner and its manufacturer partially at fault. Coultas is the only surviving crewman.

Fatalities include David Steele, 19, Ashland; Shawn Blazer, 30, Medford; Scott Charlson, 25, Phoenix; Matthew Hammer, 23, Grants Pass; Edrik Gomez, 19, Ashland; Bryan Rich, 29, Medford; and Steven “Caleb” Renno, 21, Cave Junction; U.S. Forest Service check pilot Jim Ramage, 63, of Redding, Calif.. Richard Schroeder Jr., Jonathan Frohreich and Michael Brown survived with injuries.

The case hinged on a problem with the engine’s fuel control valve. Evidence included a GE internal email from Aug. 6, 2008 discussing the size of the fuel filter, noting that the military version removes much smaller particles than the commercial version.

Official NTSB Report:
On August 5, 2008, about 1941 Pacific daylight time, a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter, N612AZ, impacted trees and terrain during the initial climb after takeoff from Helispot 44 (H-44), located at an elevation of about 6,000 feet in mountainous terrain near Weaverville, California. The pilot-in-command, the safety crewmember, and seven firefighters were fatally injured; the copilot and three firefighters were seriously injured. Impact forces and a postcrash fire destroyed the helicopter, which was being operated by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) as a public flight to transport firefighters from H-44 to another helispot. The USFS had contracted with Carson Helicopters, Inc. (CHI) of Grants Pass, Oregon, for the services of the helicopter, which was registered to CHI and leased to Carson Helicopter Services, Inc. of Grants Pass. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a company visual flight rules flight plan had been filed.

Contributing to the fatalities were the immediate, intense fire that resulted from the spillage of fuel upon impact from the fuel tanks that were not crash resistant, the separation from the floor of the cabin seats that were not crash resistant, and the use of an inappropriate release mechanism on the cabin seat restraints.

The post Jury Awards 2008 Helicopter Crash Victims, GE Loses $177 million Judgment first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Safety engineers found cracks in almost all Airbus A380 planes inspected.

Emirates is not alone. Qantas Airways grounded one of its planes for up to a week following the discovery of 36 separate cracks in wing parts. European Air Safety Agency (EASA) recommended examination of all Airbus A380s in the Qantas fleet and 20 aircraft operated by Singapore Airlines.

The Airbus list price is $390 million. France-based Airbus is not expected to turn a profit before 2015.

The post Airbus A380 Wing Cracks at root of Emirates Compensation Plan. first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

If Steven Fay had known Jessica Malin would die in the flight and he would survive, he never would have taken her on the twin engine Cessna on Jan 1, 2011. At 4:30 p.m. on on Jan 1, 2011, the day of the crash, the plane’s wings clipped treetops while landing in Orange about 90 minutes after sunset.

He shouldn’t have flown her. He was not certified to fly the plane, which crashed approach to Orange Municipal Airport. His license was revoked after the crash. He was arraigned on Feb 1 2012 for involuntary manslaughter for Jessica Malin’s death. Malin was his daughter. She was 35.

Fay denied the charges. He returns to court on Feb 24.

The post Unqualified Pilot Sued for Daughter’s Death first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Doyles, the family in whose yard the plane crashed are suing the pilot’s widow. On April 5, the Doyle family will face Gary Bradford’s estate in court.

Rita Bradford and her deceased husband owned ENS Corp., a Florida IT firm. At the time of the crash, he had owned the plane for three months after 98 hours of instrument experience, and 52 hours of flight instruction in seven days.

The meat of the suit is that the Doyles say the pilot did not properly inspect, maintain or know how to land the Cessna.

When the Cessna crashed in the Doyle’s yard, the plane did not strike the house, but debris started a fire in the north side of the garage.

The post Sugar Grove Family Sues Deceased Pilot first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Tuesday, ruling about the May 2010 Boeing crash in Mangalore,India, the Indian Supreme Court apex court bench issued a notice to Air India and the government on a petition seeking a minimum compensation of Rs 75 lakh for each of the 158 passengers.

Senior counsel Harish Salve told the court that under the Montreal convention the national carrier was obliged to pay a minimum compensation of 100,000 SDRs (special drawing rights) to families of the passengers who died in the crash.

The court final hearing of the case is scheduled in April.

Read More Mangalore Crash: Air India Express Boeing 737-800

The post Back in Court over Mangalore Ruling first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Where there had once been plans of a Korean family wedding, the joy of cousins, reunion of generations, and decades of Christmases like the one just past, for Don Yoon and his in-laws, there’s now only pain, and following that, an immeasurable vacuum. I guess there’s no point on my dwelling on how great the loss, or the irony. Don Yoon came to the US at 18 to build a better life, and one minute before that jet crashed, he had the American dream.

I guess you could say it went from dream to nightmare. The three years since that crash have ended with the U.S. District Court in San Diego awarding the surviving family members $17.8 million. I don’t need to be a gambler to know that they would trade every penny to have their family back.

The post 17.8 Million Awarded to Surviving Family first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Goble co-founded Sectra North America, the North American unit of Linköping, Sweden-based PACS firm Sectra, in 1997, and had served as its president ever since. Prior to that, Goble was medical marketing manager for Hewlett-Packard’s workstation division.

Two million was awarded in compensation for lost wages; the remainder was for loss of companionship. The pilot owned Classic Rotors, a vintage aircraft museum.

A case against Goble and the utility company involving the surviving family of another deceased passenger, James Jantz, is still pending.

The post Widow Awarded $10 Million for Wrongful Death in Chopper Crash first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

152 died in that crash in July of 2010, nearly a year and a half ago, and the report has still not been released.

Whatever the errors were that occurred, the report should have been released by now, especially after Air Blue made several commitments to release dates of that report. Full disclosure of accident reports is really the only way to learn from the past, and prevent future incidents. Also, it is unnecessarily cruel to keep families of the victims waiting, some of whom who are engaged in lawsuits whose results won’t be determined until after the reports are released.

Airblue’s CEO did not appear in court, even though his presence was specifically requested by the court. A lawyer, Masood A Khan, appeared in his stead and requested more time.

The post Air Blue Chided by Sindh High Court first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.