Claims Colgan "Negligently... Recklessly" Operated Plane

The first lawsuit has been filed over the February 12 downing of a Colgan Air Q400 turboprop near Buffalo, NY. On Thursday, the firm of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman sued four parties connected to the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, on behalf of the family of one of the victims.

As ANN reported, Susan Wehle was among the 49 persons onboard the airliner lost when the plane crashed while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, and impacted a home in Clarence Center. One person on the ground was also killed in the crash.

Wehle was cantor of Temple Beth Am in Williamsville, NY, and left behind two sons, Jonah and Jacob Mink.

The firm filed suit on behalf of the men against Continental Airlines; Colgan Air; Pinnacle Airlines, parent company of Colgan; and Bombardier Aerospace, manufacturer of the Q400. The suit alleges the flight crew lost control of the aircraft due to, among other things, a combination of airfoil icing, negligent actions of the flight crew and an inadequate, defective, de-icing system and flight control system of the aircraft.

Specifically, the lawsuit claims the airline "negligently, carelessly, and recklessly operated and monitored flight 3407 and flew it into icing conditions, knowing the aircraft was equipped with ineffective de-icing equipment, and had negligently failed to properly train the crew of flight 3407 to operate the aircraft in such circumstances," according to a release from the law firm.

Further, the firm says the Q400 was "defective in its design and manufacture, had a defective de-icing system, a defective flight control system and was unreasonably dangerous to fly in such dangerous icing conditions as was the case on the night of the crash."

Attorney Ronald L.M. Goldman said there are two primary reasons this lawsuit was filed.

"This lawsuit will enable us to explore the causes of this needless tragedy," he said. "From the moment flight 3407 was dispatched into known icing conditions with an antiquated de-icing system, to the time the pilots deployed the aircraft's flaps, and at several points in between, the flight was doomed as a result of the negligent conduct of the parties we sued.

"A primary objective will be to expose the conduct that brought about this catastrophe, toward the end that a crash of this nature will never again occur. Of equal importance, we are also seeking reasonable, fair and just compensation for Jonah and Jacob's enormous loss."

While speculation on possible causes of the accident have ranged from icing, to pilot error, to possible problems with the ILS for Runway 23 at BUF... so far, the National Transportation Safety Board has only issued a cursory Preliminary Report on the crash.  

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.baumhedlundlaw.com