Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

Late last month a small plane carrying both a student pilot and a flight instructor dove suddenly over Yamhill County, striking and literally slicing to pieces a smaller plane flying at a lower altitude, according to The Oregonian. The pilot and passenger of the descending plane were uninjured, but the pilot of the plane they hit died in the Oregon air crash. Both planes were flying out of Hillsboro, and the midair collision occurred “northwest of Aurora State Airport,” the newspaper reports.

The troubling thing emerging in media reports concerning this Oregon aviation accident is the revelation that this was not the first fatal accident involving students at a particular Hillsboro-based flight school. That fact raises troubling questions, and even the possibility that an Oregon wrongful death claim might eventually emerge from the investigations surrounding the crash.

The earlier fatal Oregon air crash incident, according to The Oregonian, took place when “a company flight instructor and his student died in September 2009 when the helicopter they were flying crashed in a field south of Forest Grove and burst into flames.” Perhaps even more ominously, “investigators looking at the helicopter crash “concluded that the flight crew’s failure to maintain adequate rotor speed resulted in a stall, followed by an uncontrolled descent to the ground.”

Put another way, we now have two fatal crashes in a relatively brief span of time involving aviation students making critical errors while flying with instructors – instructors whose most important role is surely to ensure the safe operation of the aircraft while a student is at the controls.

Negligence is never a pleasant word to use, but from an Oregon aviation accident and wrongful death attorney’s perspective it is an issue that at the very least merits consideration in cases such as these. Instructors at flight schools are entrusted with significant levels of responsibility for the welfare of their students. Attorneys and courts can and should serve as guarantors that justice is served when people in key jobs fail to carry out their jobs in a safe and responsible manner.

The Oregonian: Champoeg midair collision was second fatal crash in 2 years for Hillsboro Aviation

The Oregonian: Plane with student pilot dropped onto smaller craft, breaking it into pieces, police say

Aviation officials are investigating the circumstances of a plane crash that killed three people in Eastern Oregon earlier this month. The small plane was traveling from Dallesport, Washington to Cody, Wyoming when it crashed southeast of Ukiah, according to The Oregonian.

According to television station KPTV, the aircraft carried a pilot and two passengers – two men from Klickitat, Washington and a woman from Hermiston, Oregon. The station reported that the US Forest Service was cutting a makeshift road into the remote area of the crash to facilitate investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Small plane crashes almost always leave a number of questions in their wake. One must ask, of course, about the weather. But those mourning a loved one in the aftermath of an Oregon small plane crash also need to ask sometimes difficult questions concerning the pilot’s health, alertness level and training. The aircraft itself also bears close scrutiny. Was it properly built and maintained? If the aircraft was being used for business or professional purposes these questions could become especially important in considering whether the specifics of a particular Oregon plane crash meet the standard for an Oregon industrial accident.

Contemplating issues like these in the wake of a personal tragedy is never easy. An experienced Oregon personal injury lawyer can, however, help grieving families gather and examine the evidence and can ask the tough questions on their behalf. Air crash victims and their families deserve justice just as much as any Oregon car or truck crash victim or someone dealing with the consequences of medical malpractice.

KPTV: 3 killed in E. Ore. Plane Crash in Mountains

The Oregonian: Three killed in eastern Oregon plane crash identified as woman from Hermiston, two Washington residents

A scathing statement released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board cites “a series of improper actions” by a Grant’s Pass, Oregon contractor leading up to a 2008 crash that killed nine firefighters in California. According to a report in The Oregonian, the NTSB’s chairwoman found some actions by the company, Carson Helicopters, “so distressing that the NTSB has alerted the Department of Transportation’s inspector general to investigate in more detail, looking for possible criminal wrongdoing.”

The NTSB statement (see link below) paints a devastating picture of corporate negligence and deception. Referring to Carson, whose helicopters were contracted out to the US Forest Service for firefighting purposes, the NTSB writes: “The contractor’s actions included the intentional alteration of weight documents and performance charts and the use of unapproved performance calculations.”

Though the NTSB also found fault with actions by both the Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration, “Carson’s actions were so egregious – so egregious – that they have to go first,” NTSB member Robert Sumwalt told The Oregonian.

When government investigators believe the evidence of wrongdoing to be so overwhelming, the question has to be asked: what is the best way for the victims families to obtain justice? Criminal sanctions may deter Carson or other companies from similar activity in the future, but they offer little to the families of the dead and the injured.

In the wake of the NTSB report a strong case can be made that the firefighters tragedy is grounds for an Oregon wrongful death action in civil court. Though the helicopter crash took place in California, the fact that Carson is an Oregon-based company means that the bereaved families would be well-advised to speak with an Oregon wrongful death attorney as they consider their options in the wake of this needless tragedy.

The Oregonian: NTSB lambasts Carson Helicopters of Grant’s Pass in 2008 crash that killed 9 firefighters

NTSB News Release on Carson Helicopters and the Weaverville CA Crash