That Ditch Should Never Have Been There, They Said...
The G-IV crashed on
takeoff on October 30, 1996, its gear stripped by a drainage ditch
that snagged the out-of-control jet's gear, at Pal-Waukee airport
in northwest suburban Chicago. The plane jumped one road, then
another, and stopped short of an apartment building. First Officer
Robert "Hamp" Whitener, then 50 (who, though a pilot for
Alberto-Culver, was flying under a sharing agreement with Aon),
along with Aon pilot Martin Larry Koppie; Arthur Quern, the CEO and
Chairman of the Board of Aon Risk Management, and flight attendant
Catherine Anderson, were killed.
Not noting that local zoning boards often allow sprawl right up
to airport boundaries, Jerry A. Latherow, the Whiteners'
airport-hating attorney, said after the giant award was upheld,
"Private airports can be a real danger to pilots, passengers and
the public. The design of the runways and the lack of radar at many
of these airfields is simply an invitation to disaster." [Radar had
little to do with the failed takeoff --ed.]
That ditch was a big factor in the jury's award, although
aircraft are supposed to stay on the runway -- where the ditch
wasn't. Oh well -- juries certainly can
be bamboozled by sympathy and lawyers (rather than common
sense).
The original award was for $18,946,749. Statutory annual
interest of 9% was automatically added, increasing the award by
roughly $1,705,000 each year, for a final judgment of over
$23,500,000. The appeal, by Aon, was not heard by the Illinois
Supreme Court, which finally said it wouldn't hear the pleadings.
The Court's delay in getting around to denying the
appeal -- exacerbated by Aon's tactics, attorney Latherow told us
-- accounted for the extra dough for the family and its
lawyers.
The NTSB report was, as
usual, not allowed into evidence. A courtroom is no place for
science and professionalism. In case you're interested in what
actually happened,
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable
cause(s) of this accident as follows:
failure of the pilot-in-command (PIC) to maintain
directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll in a
gusty crosswind, his failure to abort the takeoff, and failure of
the copilot to adequately monitor and/or take sufficient remedial
action to help avoid the occurrence. Factors relating to the
accident included the gusty crosswind condition, the drainage
ditch, the flight crew's inadequate preflight, the Nose Wheel
Steering Control Select Switch in the "Handwheel Only" position,
and the lack of standardization of the two companies' operations
manuals and Interchage Agreement.
The jury found the drainage ditch to be 90% at fault for the
accident. The award, by the way, was for "loss of society" -- love,
affection, care, attention, companionship, comfort, guidance and
protection -- by the widow and her two kids. It's a new record
award for that particular problem.