Suit Claims Cessna Knew Plane Was Poorly Designed For Icy Conditions

A lawsuit filed last year in the February 2007 crash of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan was refiled in US District Court by the Nebraska pilot and his family last week to include more defendants in the case.

According to Associated Press reports, pilot Patrick O'Brien alleges that Cessna knew the 208B was poorly designed for flight in icing conditions, and has added Cessna parent company Textron and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. to the list of defendants, which also includes Goodrich Aerospace Co. and Suburban Air Services.

The Cessna went down in wintry weather as it approached Alliance, NE on the last leg of an airmail run. O'Brien says the crash left him permanently disabled from brain injuries, nerve damage, and broken bones.

The National Transportation Safety Board's official report on the crash indicates the pilot was attempting to shoot a night IFR approach below minimums, and made several other mistakes such as setting the RMI for an NDB approach instead of a VOR approach, and failing to turn on the aircraft's propeller deicing system.

The NTSB determined the probable cause of this accident as the pilot's descent below minimum descent altitude while on a nonprecision approach. A contributing factor was a low ceiling.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov