That Ditch Should Never Have Been There, They Said...

The G-IV crashed on takeoff on October 30, 1996, its gear stripped by a drainage ditch that snagged the out-of-control jet's gear, at Pal-Waukee airport in northwest suburban Chicago. The plane jumped one road, then another, and stopped short of an apartment building. First Officer Robert "Hamp" Whitener, then 50 (who, though a pilot for Alberto-Culver, was flying under a sharing agreement with Aon), along with Aon pilot Martin Larry Koppie; Arthur Quern, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Aon Risk Management, and flight attendant Catherine Anderson, were killed.

Not noting that local zoning boards often allow sprawl right up to airport boundaries, Jerry A. Latherow, the Whiteners' airport-hating attorney, said after the giant award was upheld, "Private airports can be a real danger to pilots, passengers and the public. The design of the runways and the lack of radar at many of these airfields is simply an invitation to disaster." [Radar had little to do with the failed takeoff --ed.]

That ditch was a big factor in the jury's award, although aircraft are supposed to stay on the runway -- where the ditch wasn't. Oh well -- juries certainly can be bamboozled by sympathy and lawyers (rather than common sense).

The original award was for $18,946,749. Statutory annual interest of 9% was automatically added, increasing the award by roughly $1,705,000 each year, for a final judgment of over $23,500,000. The appeal, by Aon, was not heard by the Illinois Supreme Court, which finally said it wouldn't hear the pleadings. The Court's delay in getting around to denying the appeal -- exacerbated by Aon's tactics, attorney Latherow told us -- accounted for the extra dough for the family and its lawyers.

The NTSB report was, as usual, not allowed into evidence. A courtroom is no place for science and professionalism. In case you're interested in what actually happened,

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

failure of the pilot-in-command (PIC) to maintain directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll in a gusty crosswind, his failure to abort the takeoff, and failure of the copilot to adequately monitor and/or take sufficient remedial action to help avoid the occurrence. Factors relating to the accident included the gusty crosswind condition, the drainage ditch, the flight crew's inadequate preflight, the Nose Wheel Steering Control Select Switch in the "Handwheel Only" position, and the lack of standardization of the two companies' operations manuals and Interchage Agreement.

The jury found the drainage ditch to be 90% at fault for the accident. The award, by the way, was for "loss of society" -- love, affection, care, attention, companionship, comfort, guidance and protection -- by the widow and her two kids. It's a new record award for that particular problem.

FMI: (full NTSB report)