Four Lost When Learjet 60 Overran Runway

A new lawsuit has been filed in the September 2008 takeoff crash of a Learjet 60, alleging the layout of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) in South Carolina was culpable for the accident that killed four people.

The Associated Press reports Irvine, CA-based Inter Travel & Services Inc., owner of the aircraft, joined with operator Global Exec Aviation of Long Beach in seeking over $12 million in damages from CAE, as well as Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co and Bombardier Aerospace.

As ANN reported, the two year-old Learjet crashed on takeoff at 2353 EDT the night of September 19. The jet skidded off Runway 11 and impacted a berm across a road from the runway end, the plane's fuselage splitting in two just forward of the empennage.

That circumstance likely saved the lives of former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, and Hollywood party DJ Adam Goldberg, who were able to escape through the cracked fuselage but were both severely burned. The four fatalities in the accident were pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31 ; co-pilot James Bland, 52; and Charles Monroe Still Jr. and Chris Baker, associates of Barker and Goldstein.

It's still too soon to say what caused the accident, though the National Transportation Safety Board noted in its preliminary report the aircraft's crew thought a tire had blown on takeoff, and attempted to abort the takeoff at close to V1, based on tapes from the Lear's cockpit voice recorder. Investigators also recovered pieces of tire at about 2,800 feet down from where the Lear started its takeoff roll.

Barker, Goldstein, and relatives of Baker and Still have already filed at least four lawsuits related to the crash. The latest lawsuit contends CAE did not have proper overrun areas at the runway end, and that an airport security fence and other items damaged the jet's fuel tanks, causing fuel to spill which later caught fire.

The lawsuit also asserts had the adjacent roadway not been lower than the ground surrounding it, the jet may not have crashed nose-down into the embankment on the other side.

Officials at CAE denied the allegations levied against their airport, while a spokesman for Bombardier declined to comment on the pending litigation.

"While the tires may have been involved, it is still too early to speculate on a cause," said Goodyear spokesman Ed Markey. "The performance of a tire is dependent upon how the tire was used, if it was properly maintained and whether it was damaged before the accident."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.bombardier.com, www.goodyear.com, www.globalexecaviation.com/