Thu, Aug 19, 2010
Andrew Ingram Was Fatally Injured In East Palo Alto
Accident
The family of 31-year-old Andrew Ingram, who was among those
killed when a Cessna 310 went down in a residential neighborhood in
East Palo Alto, CA, has sued the estate of the pilot, who was also
killed in the crash.
The lawsuit names the estate of 56-year-old Douglas Bourn, whom
Ingram's family says showed negligence for originating the flight
in foggy weather. It also names Air Unique, the company which owned
the airplane.
Bourn allegedly had not flown the 310 for 18 months before
attempting the flight which struck power lines and then went down
in a residential neighborhood moments after departure in fog. The
San Jose Mercury News reports that the Ingram's attorney, Frank
Pitre, said in a written statement "This plane crash could have
been avoided if the owner and operator of the aircraft, Douglas
Bourn, demonstrated concern for the safety of his passengers --
instead of blatant disregard for his lack of recent flying
experience, poor weather and the condition of his aircraft."
In the legal documents filed San Mateo Superior Court, Ingram's
attorney's point to communications between Bourn and ATC, in which
Bourn is told twice that he is "not cleared for takeoff" due to the
weather. Bourn was told that the tower could not see the runway in
the fog, and that any departure was "at your own risk." Bourn
reportedly replied "OK, 25 Juillet, rolling."
Bourn, who worked for Tesla Motors along with Ingram and the
third person on the aircraft, Brian Finn, was flying himself and
his co-workers from Palo Alto to Hawthorne, CA, where the company
does some design work.
The suit filed Tuesday does not specify a dollar amount of
damages.
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