Have Asked A Court To Force Bombardier And Learjet To Turn Over Records

In a petition for discovery filed in Cook County, IL, Circuit Court Wednesday, the relatives of singer Jenni Rivera's makeup artist, who was fatally injured when the plane in which he was a passenger went down, hope to force Bombardier and Learjet to release maintenance records for the airplane.

The 1969 Lear 25 was cruising at about 28,000 feet when it apparently entered a steep dive from which it did not recover before impacting the ground in a mountainous region of Mexico December 9th. Six people, including the singer and the 78-year-old pilot, were fatally injured in the accident.

The relatives of Rivera's makeup artist Jacob Yebale are seeking any documents related to the operation, maintenance, and repair of the aircraft at any time during its service life. The filing was made in Chicago because Bombardier does a significant amount of business in the state of Illinois, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

Starwood Management, which owned the plane, said it was always properly maintained, and that it's possible that the older pilot suffered a heart attack which led to the accident.

FMI: www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org