Claims Colgan "Negligently... Recklessly" Operated Plane
The first lawsuit has been filed
over the February 12 downing of a Colgan Air Q400 turboprop near
Buffalo, NY. On Thursday, the firm of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei &
Goldman sued four parties connected to the crash of Continental
Connection Flight 3407, on behalf of the family of one of the
victims.
As ANN reported, Susan Wehle was among the 49
persons onboard the airliner lost when the plane crashed while on
approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, and impacted a
home in Clarence Center. One person on the ground was also killed
in the crash.
Wehle was cantor of Temple Beth Am in Williamsville, NY, and
left behind two sons, Jonah and Jacob Mink.
The firm filed suit on behalf of the men against Continental
Airlines; Colgan Air; Pinnacle Airlines, parent company of Colgan;
and Bombardier Aerospace, manufacturer of the Q400. The suit
alleges the flight crew lost control of the aircraft due to, among
other things, a combination of airfoil icing, negligent actions of
the flight crew and an inadequate, defective, de-icing system and
flight control system of the aircraft.
Specifically, the lawsuit claims the airline "negligently,
carelessly, and recklessly operated and monitored flight 3407 and
flew it into icing conditions, knowing the aircraft was equipped
with ineffective de-icing equipment, and had negligently failed to
properly train the crew of flight 3407 to operate the aircraft in
such circumstances," according to a release from the law firm.
Further, the firm says the Q400 was "defective in its design and
manufacture, had a defective de-icing system, a defective flight
control system and was unreasonably dangerous to fly in such
dangerous icing conditions as was the case on the night of the
crash."
Attorney Ronald L.M. Goldman said there are two primary reasons
this lawsuit was filed.
"This lawsuit will enable us to
explore the causes of this needless tragedy," he said. "From the
moment flight 3407 was dispatched into known icing conditions with
an antiquated de-icing system, to the time the pilots deployed the
aircraft's flaps, and at several points in between, the flight was
doomed as a result of the negligent conduct of the parties we
sued.
"A primary objective will be to expose the conduct that brought
about this catastrophe, toward the end that a crash of this nature
will never again occur. Of equal importance, we are also seeking
reasonable, fair and just compensation for Jonah and Jacob's
enormous loss."
While speculation on possible causes of the accident have ranged
from
icing, to pilot error, to possible problems with the
ILS for Runway 23 at BUF... so far, the National
Transportation Safety Board has only issued a cursory
Preliminary Report on the
crash.