Unspecified Damages Sought By Family Of National Airlines' Mechanic

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed Monday in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois on behalf of the family of an airline employee who was fatally injured when a Boeing 747 cargo plane went down outside Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan on April 29, 2013. Gary P. Stockdale, a mechanic for National Airlines, was aboard the flight when it went down shortly after takeoff. The suit was filed by Chicago-based Nolan Law Group which is also representing the families of Jamie Lee Brokaw and Rinku Summan, pilots for National Airlines who were among the seven men killed in the accident.

Video of the accident captured on a vehicle dash cam went viral after being posted on the internet through the Live Leaks website.

At the time of the accident, the plane was transporting cargo that included five Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles weighing nearly 80 tons which were on pallets in the main cargo area of the plane. The law firm says that government investigators have reported that it is likely a shift in the cargo from one of the vehicles breaking loose from its restraints that led to the accident.

The suit alleges that the accident aircraft was unreasonably dangerous and unfit for the transport of high density, rolling cargo and that Boeing's manuals lacked sufficient limitations and warnings related to the transportation of such cargo.  The suit further alleges that the airplane's cargo restraint system was faulty, that it was improperly assembled by Boeing during its conversion from a passenger to a cargo aircraft, and that the instructions on the use of the cargo restraint system were inadequate.

FMI: www.nolan-law.com