Allege Pilot Flew Erratically On June 2006 ROTC Flight

The parents of a 15-year-old girl who died in a June 2006 plane crash in Maine are suing the local school system, and the fixed-base operator that employed the pilot.

Shannon Fortier was among four people onboard the Cessna 172 that impacted the western slope of Barker Mountain. She and two other Lewiston High School students -- members of the school's Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, participating in a summer flight orientation program -- were killed in the accident, along with the plane's pilot, 24-year-old William "Charlie" Weir.

John and Theresa Fortier filed a wrongful death suit this week, reports The Central Maine Sun Journal. In the suit, the Fortiers also state their daughter also suffered pre-death injuries, pain and suffering, and terror in the June 22, 2006 accident.

The suit claims Twin Cities Air Services of Auburn, ME either knowingly employed a pilot with a "history and reputation" of unsafe flying, or that the company should have realized the pilot displayed a "pattern of extreme and unsafe conduct."

Other cadets in the program who flew earlier that day told officials just before the accident flight Weir had flown "in an unsafe and reckless manner" on their flight, according to the lawsuit. They describe a near-vertical climb 300 feet laterally from the mountainside that resulted in an aerodynamic stall, with recovery at about 75-100 feet above treetops.

The cadets also told of Weir's unusual recovery method, described as a "zero-g maneuver, during which he pushed the throttle to full, cut the fuel mixture to idle and caused the aircraft to dive precipitously for five seconds before restoring the fuel mixture."

In its Probable Cause report, the National Transportation Safety Board determined Weir's failure to maintain adequate clearance from terrain while maneuvering caused the accident, that also killed students Nicholas Babcock, 17 and Teisha Loesberg, 16. The Board also noted the cadet's reports of Weir's unsafe behavior prior to the accident flight.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Twin Cities, and the Lewiston school system.

FMI: Read The NTSB Probable Cause Report