Family Of Man Killed Sues For $25 Million

The first of what will likely be dozens of lawsuits stemming from the September 16th accident at the National Championship Air Races in Reno has been filed by the family of a Texas man killed when Jimmy Leeward's plane went down.

The suit was filed in Collin County, TX. Attorney Tony Buzbee said that "the formula they created made an accident inevitable."

The Associated Press reports that the suit names Texas-based mechanic Richard Shanholtzer Jr., The Reno Air Racing Association, members of Leeward's family, Leeward Racing Inc, and others including an aircraft parts manufacturer in Washington state.

The suit was filed on behalf of Dr. Sezen Altug, the widow of Craig Salerno, who had been a dispatcher for Continental Airlines as well as a volunteer fireman. Salerno was also an avid racing pilot. Buzbee said there were "two groups of wrongdoers" involved in the accident: the risk takers who pushed the planes past their limits and the promoters who profited from hosting the show.

He also questions the impartiality of the NTSB in investigating the accident, because the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority has lobbyists in Washington with NTSB connections.

Michael Houghton, the head of the Reno Air Racing Association, said he fully expects that this is just the first of several lawsuits that will be filed in connection with the accident. He said he has not seen the suit. Members of Leeward's family declined to comment.

FMI: www.airrace.org