Wed, May 10, 2006
Will Receive $700,000 From FAA, Fly-In
The widow of a pilot
killed at Florida's Sun-N-Fun Fly-In in 2002 has reportedly settled
her lawsuit against the organization and the FAA.
The Lakeland Ledger reports Deborah Morrison received $650,000
from the FAA -- and another $50,000 from the fly-in's insurance
carrier -- in a settlement of a lawsuit over the death of her
husband Jerry in a midair accident on April 5, 2002.
As Aero-News reported at the
time, Morrison was in the pattern over Lakeland-Linder
Regional Airport in his RV-6A, when it collided with a Piper PA-16
Clipper also on approach to land on Runway 27R. The two planes
tangled at between 50 and 100 feet in the air.
Morrison was killed. The pilot of the Clipper, Stephen Pierce,
was seriously injured.
Controllers told investigators that both Morrison and Pierce
failed to heed their instructions in a pattern that was chock full
of fly-in attendees, as is typical in the days leading up to a
major airshow.
The NTSB ruled that Pierce failed to maintain a visual lookout
and yield the right-of-way to a lower airplane while on approach.
The safety board also reported that the failure of both pilots to
follow ATC instructions contributed to the accident.
So if the fault was with the pilots and ATC... why did Sun-N-Fun
also pay up? The fly-in's lawyer, John Wendal, says settling was
strictly a business decision, as it would cost less than bringing
the case to trial.
"Sun 'n Fun, throughout, has denied any responsibility
whatsoever," Wendel said. "Sun 'n Fun does not do anything at all
to control air traffic."
More News
Aero Linx: JAARS Nearly 1.5 billion people, using more than 5,500 languages, do not have a full Bible in their first language. Many of these people live in the most remote parts of>[...]
'Airplane Bounced Twice On The Grass Runway, Resulting In The Nose Wheel Separating From The Airplane...' Analysis: The pilot reported, “upon touchdown, the plane jumped back>[...]
"Burt is best known to the public for his historic designs of SpaceShipOne, Voyager, and GlobalFlyer, but for EAA members and aviation aficionados, his unique concepts began more t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
There Are SO Many Ways To Get YOUR Aero-News! It’s been a while since we have reminded everyone about all the ways we offer your daily dose of aviation news on-the-go...so he>[...]