Pilot, Event Organizers Named As Defendants
A lawsuit was filed his
week regarding a 2004 accident involving a Stearman biplane, that
claimed the life of a 39-year-old female passenger.
As ANN reported, Mark Strub
was at the controls of the 1941 PT-13 when it struck power lines,
and came to rest inverted in the Wisconsin River. Strub
survived the accident, but he wasn't able to free passenger
Kimberly Reed, who suffered a broken neck.
"I was upside down in the water, drowning, thinking, 'My God,
I've got to get to my passenger,'" Strub said in 2004. "It wasn't
possible." The coroner later said Reed likely died on impact.
Strub is due to go to trial next February, on a criminal charge
of negligent homicide. He is named in the lawsuit filed this week
by widower Kevin Reed, along with the Children's Miracle Network
Committee -- which sponsored the August 2004 balloon rally Strub
was giving plane rides at.
Rides were given for a suggested donation of $10. According to
the NTSB report, Strub performed a series of aerobatics
during Reed's ride, reportedly at her request.
The lawsuit claims event organizers required pilots giving rides
there to fill out an application, and show proof of a commercial
pilots license and adequate insurance coverage, in order to
fly.
Strub didn't fill out an application, according to the Wisconsin
Rapids Tribune, and did not carry the needed insurance. The lawsuit
claims the Childrens Miracle Network organizers knowingly allowed
Strub to fly anyway.
The lawsuit does not name a specific dollar figure, but asks for
reimbursement of Kimberly Reed's medical and funeral expenses, as
well as perpetual care charges. It also asks for compensation for
loss of companionship.
Strub told local news
outlets after the accident he had been flying for about 2.5 years,
and had his private license for two years. He was working towards
his commercial rating, he said, and had about 300 total hours at
the time of the accident.
Other defendants named in the lawsuit include St. Joseph's
Hospital, Alexandar Field/South Wood County Airport (where the
rally was held), and the communities of Wisconsin Rapids, Grand
Rapids, and the village of Port Edwards and Domtar.
Several insurance companies are also named as defendants,
according to the Tribune, as is Wisconsin Power and Light... for
failing to properly mark the power lines the plane impacted,
according to the lawsuit.