Pilot Was Fatally Injured After Piper Malibu Was Filled With Jet A

The family of a man who was fatally injured in an accident a year ago Monday has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that put fuel in his airplane in Spokane, WA.

Canadian pilot Michael Clements, 61, was flying from Alberta, Canada to a destination in California when he stopped at Spokane's Felts Field for fuel. There, the plane was fueled with Jet A rather than avgas, according to the NTSB's preliminary report. The plane went down shortly after takeoff, and Clements passed away two days later from his injuries.

Television Station KREM reports that according to the suit, an employee of Western Aviation at Felts Field filled the airplane with the wrong fuel. The suit states that a "rogue nozzle" was affixed to the Jet A pump which led to the mistake. The suit also says the employee ignored labels on the aircraft that indicated it should be fueled with avgas.

The NTSB has not released a probable cause report for the accident, which would not be admissible as evidence in court.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov