Tue, Nov 24, 2009
Crash Victim's Kids Claim Controller Did Not Give Adequate
Weather Information
The children of a couple who were
killed when the Partenavia P68 in which they were passengers went
down short of the Gainesville, Florida airport are suing the FAA
for damages "in excess" of $75,000. The suit, filed in U.S.
District Court in Miami, alleges that a lack of communication
between the Gainesville air traffic controllers and charter pilot
Andrew Ricciuti were responsible for the crash. The NTSB reported
that the aircraft approached the airport too low, impacted trees,
and went down.
22-year-old Kyle Taylor and 19-year-old Julia Taylor brought the
suit following the deaths of their parents Gordon and Barbara
Taylor. The couple had chartered the Partenavia to take them to
Gainesville so that Gordon Taylor could receive a kidney
transplant.
Keysnet.com reports that the suit claims that FAA air traffic
controller Clois Strickland didn't provide any weather information
for approximately 30 minutes before clearing Ricciuti to land at
2:45 a.m. on November 7th, 2008. Fog was reported in the vicinity
of the airport. The suit further alleges that Strickland ended
communication with Ricciuti prior to final approach.
The flight was scheduled as a "priority flight," according
to Mark Sylvester, the children's attorney, because of
Taylor's medical condition. "Usually when you have a priority
flight ... they pay specific attention to you," Sylvester said. "In
this case, the air traffic controller terminated his coverage about
five to 10 minutes before the actual crash."
Partenavia P68 File Photo
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the FAA doesn't comment on
pending litigation.
The surviving children have also filed civil claims against the
estate of the charter pilot, as well as aircraft owner Robert Valle
and charter service Florida Aerocharter.
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