Widow sues dead pilot for plane crash

By Hum
in Real World News

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Grand Master

Hum

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Posted

(CNN) -- A Canadian woman whose common-law husband died in a plane crash after a drunken passenger allegedly kicked the pilot's seat forward, jamming him into the instrument panel, is suing the estate of the dead pilot in a British Columbia court.

The lawsuit alleges Damon York, 33, pilot of the Cessna plane, violated Canadian aviation regulations by allowing the drunken passenger to board his flight. In a Transportation Safety Board of Canada accident report, investigators said the intoxicated passenger most likely "kicked the pilot's seatback forward and held it there" until the plane hit the water.

An autopsy found the passenger's ankles were broken on impact, suggesting she was kicking the pilot's seat forward, the board said. The Transportation Safety Board is the Canadian equivalent of the United States' National Transportation Safety Board.

York had a broken wrist and other injuries that investigators believe resulted from the pilot trying to free himself to regain control of the plane as it plummeted, according to the report.

Killed were passengers Edward Sam, 28, his sister Katrina Sam-English, 22, his cousin Samantha Mattersdorfer, 24, who allegedly kicked the pilot's seat, and York.

In the lawsuit, Sam's widow, Melissa Schram, alleges York and the company he worked for were grossly negligent because the pilot's seat was so easily shoved forward when Mattersdorfer kicked it. Additionally, Schram's suit claims that because of improper training the pilot failed to maintain calm during an emergency situation.

Schram is seeking compensation for loss of support, loss of inheritance, loss of companionship and loss of household assistance.

The Cessna-185F floatplane nose-dived into the ocean near Vancouver Island in May 2010. Floatplanes look like traditional aircraft but are modified with pontoons allowing water landings.

Investigators say all three passengers had been drinking heavily on the day of the crash when they chartered York's flight to return home.

The three passengers were members of the Ahousaht First Nation and the reservation they lived on doesn't permit alcohol. The passengers attempted to make their trip via boat, but a water taxi operator refused to take them to the reservation because they had alcohol in their baggage.

When investigators located the floatplane wreckage on the ocean floor, beer cans were found near the passenger seats. Schram's attorneys claim York hadn't properly stowed the luggage, allowing the passengers to gain access to the alcohol they brought on board.

Witnesses told investigators that prior to departing, all three were able to walk and were coherent enough to argue about the price of the charter, according to the safety board's accident report.

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Veteran

rfirth

Posted
Posted

An autopsy found the passenger's ankles were broken on impact, suggesting she was kicking the pilot's seat forward, the board said.

York had a broken wrist and other injuries that investigators believe resulted from the pilot trying to free himself to regain control of the plane as it plummeted, according to the report.

That's not the conclusion I would come to. I would conclude that the impact of the airplane smashing into the ocean most likely caused the injuries...

Come on. Don't sue the estate of the pilot. Sue the estate of Samantha Mattersdorfer. If their strange story is true, she caused the accident by attacking the pilot.

Grand Master

Japlabot

Posted
Posted

The regulations apply just as much to the passengers as it does the airline, and it sounds like the deceased husband was just as much of a contributor to the accident by also being drunk at the time of the flight after getting drunk with the idiot who kicked the seat forward. I'm guessing that the lawyers are chasing the Pilot over the idiot who kicked the seat forward as a drunk person's estate would end up blaming the airline in the same way and she is related to the drunk person's family.

Hope it gets thrown out. Their whole family are stupid twats who get drunk together before flying and then cause plane crashes, and then blame the airline for their lack of responsibility to try and get a payout.

Grand Master

Noir Angel

Posted
Posted

It's entirely possible the pilot never even knew what they had in their bags, considering that it was a private flight. The woman who kicked the pilot's seat was to blame and she already paid the ultimate price for her idiocy.

Experienced

Wolfbane

Posted
Posted

If only the widow had been in that plane as well, then there'd be one less bitch who would sue a dead person to grab money.

That family seems incredibly ****ed up.. One attacks the pilot and the other two just sit by and watch, and the 4th sues the pilot for being murdered by her family...

Grand Master

Mr. Gibs

Posted
Posted

Death does not let you off of something if it's your fault. Depending on the policies of the charter plane company, the pilot very well could be at fault through no fault of his own but rather procedure and protocol.

Not really. Yes its against regulations to let a passenger on a GA plane who is under the influence of alcohol but witnesses said they walked fine and were able to argue coherently. Pilots don't walk around with breathalyzers in their pocket, so really if they look alright then that's what they are.

The second point about the cargo not being secured properly, the women / lawyer are just talking out their ass. It's a single engine cessna so the cargo compartment is behind the back seat (just like in an SUV) so pretty much anyone in the back can just reach over and grab whatever they want (the pilot could turn the autopilot on and grab stuff from back there if he really wanted).

Being drunk does not excuse you from stupid behavior, so the pilots family should be suing these guys for what they did.

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