Pilot Departed In Fog, Result Was Damaged Homes, Three Fatalities

On February 17, 2010, a Cessna 310 (similar aircraft pictured) carrying three employees of Tesla Motors struck an electrical transmission tower shortly after takeoff from Palo Alto Airport in California. The wreckage skidded down a residential street, and while there were no injuries reported on the ground, debris struck several homes, setting three on fire.

Now, the San Jose Mercury News reports that an attorney for 51-year-old Lisa Jones, whose home was hit by a severed wing from the plane, has reached a financial settlement with Tesla Motors, the estate of the pilot, and several insurance companies. The home, which also housed a daycare center operated by Jones, suffered an estimated $200,000 damage, and has been uninhabitable for almost two years since the accident.

Jones first heard of the pending settlement announcement from a reporter. She tells the Mercury News, "I'm speechless. I feel there's something that's finally been done on my behalf."

The pilot of the Cessna 310, 56-year-old David Bourn, was a senior electrical engineer at Tesla Motors. Investigators say fog was so thick at the time of the takeoff that Bourn was warned by a controller who could not see his own runway. About 30 seconds after the initial warning, the controller repeated, "I cannot clear you for takeoff because I don't have visibility on the runway, so the release is all yours, and it's at your own risk, sir."

The NTSB's final report, published November 22, 2011, found pilot error the cause of the accident, but the board's report would not have been admissible in a civil liability trial. The terms of the forthcoming settlement have not been revealed.

FMI: http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/AccidentReports/uednk1551xxkpy45kkmpdh551/Y01032012120000.pdf