Fire Department Took Four Hours To Respond To Downed Twin

Krista and Matt Plumlee, the parents of two young girls who died in an airplane accident near California's Visalia Municipal Airport (VIS) last year, are suing the city, according to the Fresno Bee.

As ANN reported, Pilot Bernard Sinor, his wife Betty and their two granddaughters Jorjanna and Kyndal Plumlee perished when the twin-engine Piper PA-30 went down in January 13, 2006.

The preliminary National Transportation Safety Board investigation indicated the aircraft stalled while turning from base-leg to final approach in a night VFR landing at the Visalia Municipal Airport.

In their lawsuit, the Plumlee's claim that city firefighters contributed to the children's deaths by failing to react to an eyewitness report of the crash. The Visalia Fire Department responded four hours after the crash.

Earlier this year, the department conducted its own investigation into the allegations -- and in March, penalized four firefighters -- three of whom were on duty at the time of the accident -- for failing to properly respond to reports of the plane crash.

In the lawsuit filed in Tulare County Superior Court last month, the girls' parents claim the Visalia Fire Department dismissed the eyewitness accounts.

Attorneys for the city argue the children's injuries were so severe they could not have survived the crash.

FMI: Read The Preliminary Report