Cessna 172 Collided With A Sabreliner Business Jet At Brown Field in SoCal

Another wrongful death lawsuits has been filed against a contract ATC provider and BAE Systems in relation to an accident which occurred on August 16 last year that resulted in the fatal injury of all five people on board two aircraft involved in a mid-air collision.

The most recent suit was filed by the family of Michael A. Copeland, a resident of San Diego, CA and Qualcomm executive who was flying the 172 at the time of the accident in San Diego Superior Court.

Television station KSWB reports that among the defendants is New Jersey-Based Serco Inc., which has a contract with the FAA to provide air traffic control services at Brown Field (KSDM), as well as BAE systems Technology Solutions and Services, which is based in Maryland and owned an operated the Sabreliner. That airplane was flying under a contract for the U.S. Navy when the accident occurred.

According to the suit, controllers at KSDM had talked to the pilots of both airplanes. The Sabreliner had been cleared to land, while Copeland had been cleared for a touch-and-go at the airport.

Attorney DAvid S.Casey Jr. told the station that the plaintiffs hold that the controllers did not maintain a proper, safe distance between the two aircraft. He also says that because the Sabreliner was approaching from above and behind the Cessna, its pilot should have been able to see the slower airplane and avoid the collision.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: NTSB Preliminary Report