Representative Cases

Aviation Law Group represented the estate of a forest firefighter pilot who died in a helicopter accident while fighting fires in Northern California. The suit was filed in California against the United States for failure to take proper and adequate safety precautions. The case settled after we established fault during the discovery phase of litigation.

After a 3-week jury trial, Robert Hedrick obtained a $10.5 million verdict against a regional fly-in host and its national counterpart. The case involved failure to arrange for adequate fire and emergency response at the event, which caused a pilot to die needlessly. Though later reversed by the court of appeals, and the Washington Supreme Court refused to consider the erroneous appellate decision, the judgment sent a strong safety message to the air-show and fly-in industry, causing improvements in aviation event emergency services. We believe the change has already saved numerous lives.

On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, flying from Puerto Villarta, Mexico to Seattle via San Francisco, crashed into the Pacific Ocean northwest of Los Angeles. Firm members represented the families and estates of numerous passengers. After Alaska agreed not to contest liability, and after the trial court determined that maritime law applied (which was most favorable to our clients), we obtained a very favorable settlement for our clients.

Members prevailed on a case involving a product liability claim against a helicopter manufacturer before trial. In that wrongful death case, we filed a motion for summary judgment, where we proved that the tail rotor on the new helicopter should not have contacted the tail in flight, which caused the helicopter to crash. The trial judge agreed and held that this was a design defect in violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations. As a result, the manufacturer was negligent as a matter of law. The defendant settled shortly after on terms very favorable to our client.

In November 2009 a scheduled seaplane flight crashed shortly after takeoff in Canadian waters, killing 6 passengers. Aviation Law Group represented families of two U.S. passengers. Even though the accident occurred in Canada on a Canadian flight, we filed suit in the U.S., claiming multiple legal theories and jurisdiction here. Shortly after filing the lawsuit, the two claims settled.

Mis-rigging of the flight controls caused an aircraft accident. At trial, the jury agreed with our aviation experts that the system was defectively designed, and that defect contributed to the accident that took the lives of the pilot and passenger. As a result, appropriate safety changes are anticipated, including design changes that will make the aircraft safer.

Due to our location in the Pacific Northwest, we have experience in helicopter logging accidents. In one case, two pilots were flying a large helicopter over mountainous wooded terrain in northern California performing helicopter logging operations. The helicopter crashed, killing one pilot and seriously injuring the other. Even though the NTSB was unable to determine any mechanical failure, our investigation and team of aviation experts determined that two separate defects, that were causally linked, had caused the accident. The lawsuit against the numerous defendants was settled shortly before trial.

In another case, on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, a helicopter had an uncontained turbine engine failure while transporting timber. The helicopter crashed into a heavily wooded area, seriously injuring the pilot. Our aviation experts, including a metallurgist, determined that a turbine wheel failed due to improper balancing technique