Our aviation team of wrongful death lawyers concluded a federal court wrongful death case on behalf of the survivors of a 40-year-old mother and her 1-year-old daughter who died 45 minutes after boarding a Cessna King Air ambulance transporting the child to a regional medical center. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all passengers and crew members. Walkup’s aviation lawyers argued that the pilot was not properly trained to fly the aircraft because he had only three hours of nighttime training.
Further, they argued that he had selected a dangerous departure route from the rural airport and, as a result, became spatially disoriented and flew the plane into the ground. The defense argued that the pilot was properly trained and the departure route was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. Our wrongful death clients included the deceased mother’s heirs, including her siblings and mother. The case was concluded by way of a mediated settlement in a confidential seven-figure amount.
