Lawsuit Blames the Flight Academy for the Fatal Accident

The family of Barrett Bevacqua, a student pilot who was killed in a 2023 plane crash, is suing the flight school and airline related to the flight. They claim that the flight instructor is to blame for the accident and are seeking $27 million.

20-year-old Bevacqua enrolled in the Ascend Pilot Academy, spearheaded by Alaska Airlines and subsidiary Horizon Air, in January 2023. This gave him a $26,000 stipend for flight training with Hillsboro Aero Academy (HAA) with the requirement that he spend two years as a Horizon Air first officer after completion.

He was conducting a training flight on October 3, 2023, with his instructor, Michele Cavallotti, and another trainee. About 30 minutes into the flight, the Piper Seminole entered a rapid descent and dropped more than 5,000 feet in less than a minute. At 6:45 pm, the aircraft crashed into a home. Bevacqua and Cavallotti were killed, while the trainee survived with serious bone fractures and other injuries.

"During this time, Barrett Bevacqua and (the) passenger ... knew they were in trouble and were going to crash and die," the suit hypothesized.

Bevacqua’s family filed a $27 million wrongful death lawsuit against Hillsboro Aero Academy and Ascend Pilot Academy on January 13 in Multnomah County court. The complaint claims that Cavallotti was demonstrating slow flight on one engine and "allowed the aircraft to slow down below safe and permissible ... minimum speeds, which caused the aircraft to enter an aerodynamic stall resulting in a spin."

"Horizon Air partners with Hillsboro Aero Academy as part of the Ascend Pilot Academy, where Mr. Bevacqua was enrolled at the time of this training accident in 2023,” stated Alaska Airlines. “We are devastated by Mr. Bevacqua’s passing and continue to extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends."

FMI: https://flyhaa.com