Cites NTSB Probable Cause Report
The third wrongful
death lawsuit to be filed against Hendrick Motorsports following
the October 24, 2004 downing of a company aircraft near
Martinsville, VA, focuses on the pilots' actions leading up to the
accident that claimed the lives of all ten people onboard the King
Air 200.
Linda Turner and Wachovia Bank, executors of the estate of
accident victim Jeff Turner, are suing the estates of the pilots,
as well as Hendrick Motorsports, in North Carolina Superior
Court.
Unlike lawsuits filed by the widows of passengers Randy Dorton
and Scott Lathram three months ago, Turner's lawsuit focuses
specifically on the actions of pilots Richard Tracy and Elizabeth
Morrison. The lawsuit cites the National Transportation Safety
Board's finding in its Probable Cause report that the pilots failed
to follow the proper approach procedures to Martinsville/Blue Ridge
Airport.
SceneDaily.com reports Turner's lawsuit alleges Tracy filed an
incorrect flight plan, by telling flight service the King Air was
equipped with an FAA-certified GPS system approved to fly
approaches. The NTSB found the plane's GPS was scheduled to be
updated at the end of the racing season to meet the latest
standards, but that upgrade had not been carried out at the time of
the accident.
In its report (available at the FMI link below), the NTSB cites
the pilots' failure to properly execute the published approach
procedure into Martinsville as the primary cause for
the crash. A contributing factor was the crew's failure to use
all available nav aids to fly the approach -- including relying on
the GPS to fly the approach.
Turner has also filed a federal lawsuit against the US
government, over the actions of the air traffic controllers
monitoring the King Air. In the Dorton and Lathram lawsuits,
Hendrick Motorsports has also filed a complaint against the
controllers.
All three lawsuits have been filed in North Carolina state
courts, although they may be moved to federal court, especially if
air traffic controllers -- and, by extension, the FAA and the US
government -- are listed as defendants. When there are multiple
cases, an FAA spokesman said, the cases are typically combined into
one... which may prove to be difficult, as all three lawsuits
target different aspects.
Lawsuits filed by the Dorton and Turner estates, for example,
include the estates of the pilots as defendants -- while the
Lathram case does not. Also, the Dorton lawsuit includes an
allegation that John Hendrick -- Rick's Hendrick's brother, and
president of Hendrick Motorsports -- forced the pilots
to attempt the landing so they could make the start of
the race, despite poor weather condtions at Martinsville.
Rick Hendrick denies that allegation. John Hendrick and his two
daughters, as well as Rick's son Ricky, were among the 10 people
who died in the accident.