Plane Manufacturer "Negligent And Careless" In Aircraft Design

The family of a Jacksonville Beach, FL woman fatally injured when a Bombardier Q400 being operated by Colgan Air as Continental Connection Flight 3407 went down in Buffalo has sued the manufacturer for alleged negligence in the aircraft design.

The Florida Times-Union reports that the parents of Ellyce Kausner filed the federal lawsuit this month. John and Marilyn Kausner claim that Bombardier was "negligent and careless" in the design of the Q400 by not including mechanical warning systems which were more efficient. A New York attorney representing the Kausners said that along with a better-designed low-speed warning system, the airplanes icing warning system was also inadequate.

Kausner lived in Jacksonville Beach, FL, and was traveling to visit family in New York when the accident occurred.

In its probable cause report, the NTSB found that the crash was largely the result of inattention on the part of the cockpit crew during approach, and that one of the crew was not properly trained in how the "stick pusher" works.

The attorney said the suit was filed this month so as to be not to exceed the two-year statute of limitations on the case.

FMI: www.flmd.uscourts.gov