Dead Man's Family Says Pilot Flew Recklessly
How could it come to this? The St.
Petersburg (FL) Times reports Donn Goodson and Billy Harter were
the best of friends. But less than eight months after both were
killed in a helicopter accident in Balm (FL), Harter's children are
suing Goodson's widow, saying the pilot of the Bell 47 was flying
recklessly.
Here's how the NTSB sees it in its preliminary report on the
accident:
On October 21, 2003, about 1140 eastern daylight time, a Bell
47G-2A-1, N73979 registered to Central Florida Flying Services
Inc., and operated by an individual, impacted with a garage/hanger
on the helicopter owner's private property in the town of Balm,
Florida.
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no
flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 local personal flight.
The helicopter, a fishing boat with a trailer, and a 2003 truck
were destroyed. The non-rated pilot and one passenger received
serious injuries. One person on the ground received fatal injuries.
The flight had departed from the pilot's private Helipad at about
1100.
A witness stated the pilot took a passenger for a local flight
and was returning after about a 15 minute flight. As the helicopter
approached, the witness estimated it was about 8 feet off the
ground and moving from west to east. The next thing the witness
reported was "the blades on top of the helicopter struck the hanger
above," then he saw the person who was standing about 2 feet away
from him, drop to the ground. The witness then looked to the right
and saw the helicopter in a nose low, tail high position, and then
saw the helicopter impact with a fishing boat and pickup truck.
The lawyer for Harter's adult children, Gloria and William, say
they just want a "fair shake" from the strawberry magnate's estate,
left to his widow, Janet.
"It was a tragic accident for everybody concerned, in particular
when you have close family friends like this," said Woody Isom, a
Goodson family lawyer. "From Janet Goodson's standpoint, we're very
sorry that it has come to litigation."
The FAA says Goodson wasn't certificated to fly rotorwing
aircraft. And as far as that helipad he built in his backyard, the
Florida Department of Transportation says it was never
approved.
Isom says the families tried to settle out of court, but
couldn't agree on a dollar figure.