Charter Plane Crashes

Representing Accident Victims in All Types of Charter Plane Crash

Charter flights are organized by individuals or a group of individuals who travel together either through a corporation or with a tour company. Litigation can be complex when dealing with a charter organization after an accident. Our attorneys are experienced in pursuing charter plane crash claims and know how to identify responsible parties so that you can receive the compensation you deserve.

At Wisner Baum, we have extensive experience in aviation litigation and provide our clients with effective representation that gets results.

Contact us at (855) 948-5098 to start discussing your charter plane crash with one of our attorneys. Based in Los Angeles, we serve clients throughout California and nationwide.

What Causes Charter Plane Crashes?

A chartered flight often involves a provider that is not subject to the same regulatory scrutiny as commercial carriers, especially with regard to minimum qualifying hours for pilots, training, and maintenance practices. Many of these charter flights operate under the far less strict regulations that govern private pilots and aircraft. That means the process of investigating and finding the true cause of a charter plane crash often involves digging deeply into the records and written policies and practices of multiple private companies.

Since 2000, five times as many fatal private and charter plane crashes have occurred than fatal airline accidents. The number of accidents involving private and chartered aircraft is not only significantly higher than those involving commercial airlines, it also tends to be understated since the FAA does not precisely track data on usage of certain flights. However, investigators have found that the cause of 88 percent of these accidents involve pilot error.

Pilots of charter planes are not regulated by the FAA to the same degree as commercial airline pilots. Corporate and charter aircraft operators are not regularly inspected and do not necessarily have to adhere to the same pilot certification standards required by the airlines. Many pilots of charter aircraft are left to decide how many hours they can work or when it is safe to land. We have found charter plane crashes often involve pilot error related to failure to adhere to necessary safety steps and errors in judgment due to overwork or fatigue.

Corporate negligence is also a possible cause of charter plane crashes. Pilots of chartered planes have to answer to their passengers, as well as the corporate aircraft owners. Despite the obvious danger involved, a corporate entity can pressure a pilot to take on more working hours than is safe or make landings in difficult conditions in order to make a deadline and deliver the passengers to their destination on time. A charter company may attempt to save money by hiring shoddy maintenance facilities or give pilots the bare minimum of fuel needed to get to their destination, leaving little or no room for error. The corporate tendency to place profits over safety can make it difficult for even the best pilots to operate their aircraft in a safe and effective manner.

Call (855) 948-5098 or contact us online.

Charter Plane Crashes Handled by Wisner Baum

Aspen Avjet Charter Plane Crash

On March 29, 2001, an Avjet charter plane crash involving a Gulfstream III business jet occurred at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in the Aspen Mountains of Colorado. The charter plane took off late, even though the flight crew was aware that the delay would have them arrive at or near the time that the airport would be closed for landings. Under pressure to get the charter clients to their destination on time, the pilot disregarded the obvious safety risks and attempted to make an illegal landing in the dark despite knowing that several other airplanes had performed missed approaches due to an inability to perform an instrument approach. Unfortunately, the plane missed the runway. The resulting charter plane crash killed all 18 people onboard. The family we represented received a $9.5 million jury award for the tragic death of their daughter *.

Classic Helicopter Corp. Charter Helicopter Crash

On August 2, 2007 during a chartered helicopter flight to visit a logging site in Washington State, failure of the tail blade of a Robinson R44 II helicopter caused the pilot of the aircraft to perform an emergency landing resulting in a low energy impact crash. The post impact fire that ensued killed all four people onboard and ignited a 485 acre forest fire. Our firm sued Robinson Helicopter Company, alleging that a defect in the main rotor drive shaft caused it to fracture and puncture the unreinforced fuel tanks, causing the post-crash fire. Our firm settled this case on the eve of trial for a confidential amount.

Kemper Aviation Charter Plane Crash

On March 13, 2008, three passengers from a local university were on a chartered flight with Kemper Aviation to study migratory birds, when the plane apparently stalled and crashed. According to the NTSB inspection, an inoperative stall warning horn was reported on this plane twice before the crash. The maintenance personnel in charge of the plane claimed that after inspecting the horn after both incidents, it was found to be operative. Upon inspection of the plane by authorities after the crash, it was discovered that the stall warning horn was inoperative at the time of the crash. The pilot was the co-owner of Kemper Aviation incorporated. The charter plane crash killed all three passengers and the pilot. This was the third fatal crash in six months involving Kemper Aviation and all three events involved alleged maintenance negligence.

Contact Us for a Free Initial Consultation

If you or a loved one have been harmed by a charter plane crash, you should be confident that the attorney you retain is effective in litigating aviation cases. Wisner Baum has extensive experience in all types of aviation and charter plane crash litigation, and over the years, we’ve recovered over half a billion for our injured clients.

Do not wait to begin the investigation and preparation of your case. Contact us online or call (855) 948-5098 today. Our lawyers are equipped to handle both domestic and international cases.