Suit Against Contract ATC Company Is Still Pending

A lawsuit filed against the pilot of an aircraft which collided with a helicopter near Frederick, MD has been dropped by the families of the people aboard the helicopter who were fatally injured in the accident.

The suit was filed against Scott Vincent Graeves, the pilot of the Cirrus aircraft which collided with the helicopter, a Robinson R44. Christopher Parsons, of Westminster, who worked as a flight instructor with Advanced Helicopter Concepts, was piloting the helicopter. Also aboard were Breandan MacFawn, of Cumberland, and William Jenkins, of Colorado. All three were fatally injured.

The suit was dropped because a counterclaim filed by Graeves and the lawsuit filed by the families both held that Parsons was responsible for the accident, according to a report from the Frederick News-Post. Court records dated January 6 indicate that they intended to drop the suit. In response, Graeves has agreed to drop his countersuit against the estates of those fatally injured in the accident.

A second suit against Midwest Air Traffic Control Service, which provides the controllers for Frederick Municipal Airport, is still pending. The families are seeking a judgement of more than $75,000 from the company. The controllers say that the Advanced Flight Concepts is primarily responsible for the accident, a charge the school denies.

The NTSB said in its probable cause report that the accident was likely the result of the failure of the helicopter pilots and the airplane pilot to maintain an adequate visual lookout for known traffic in the traffic pattern, which resulted in a midair collision. Contributing to the accident were the airplane pilot's descent below the published airplane traffic pattern altitude (TPA) and the helicopter pilot's climb above the proper helicopter TPA as prescribed in the FAA's Aeronautical Information Manual for airports without published helicopter TPAs. Also contributing to the accident were the lack of a published helicopter TPA, the absence of radar equipment in the tower, and the controller's inadequate task prioritization. The report is not admissible as evidence in court.

A civil trial is scheduled to begin March 27 in Frederick County Circuit Court.

FMI: NTSB Probable Cause Report