CINCINNATI, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ — A lawsuit was filed today in
federal district court in Covington, Kentucky by the family of Joann Wright of Cincinnati, who was killed in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 on August 27, 2006. The suit names only Comair as a defendant, although the plaintiff anticipates adding other defendants. Comair is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines (Pink Sheets: DALRQ).
Plaintiff claims that the plane went down the wrong runway. The runway was too short for the plane. Plaintiff claims that the plane was unable to gain altitude, the plane hit a berm, trees and other obstacles and then slammed into a field and burst into flames approximately one-half mile from the end of the runway. In addition, the suit raises issues concerning the airline’s overloading of the aircraft and its use of less than optimal
thrust during such takeoffs. Plaintiff also seeks punitive damages.
Plaintiff has also filed a motion requesting a preliminary injunction
preventing Comair from destroying any evidence and records potentially
relevant to the operation and crash of Flight 5191. This is a standard
measure taken in air disaster litigation to ensure that any defects that
may have contributed to the crash remain detectable. If granted, this
relief would benefit the families of all Flight 5191 victims.
“This was a needless tragedy. The conduct by Comair and air traffic
controller was egregious,” said Stan Chesley, attorney for Joann Wright’s
family. The air traffic controller cleared the flight for take-off and then turned his back so that he could perform administrative duties. The air
traffic controller did not look at the plane until after he heard the
aircraft explode. Only one air traffic controller, with two hours sleep,
was working, even though FAA regulations required that two air traffic
controllers be present.
“This conduct that caused this plane crash was among the most
outrageous conduct that I have seen in my many years of aviation litigation practice”, Mr. Chesley said, “We are going to get to the bottom of this.
The public has a right to know what really happened.”
“Our firm (Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley Co., L.P.A.) has
represented many victims in aircraft disasters and we are proud to have
been selected by Joann Wright’s family.”
Stanley Chesley of Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley has been named
by federal courts as lead or co-lead counsel in many aviation disasters
including:
Member of Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, In Re: USAir Flight #427
Aircrash Disaster at Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.D.C., Western District of
Pennsylvania, MDL #1040
Chairman of Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, In Re: USA Flight #405
Aircrash Disaster at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, U.S.D.C. Northern
District of Ohio, MDL #936
Member of Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, In Re: Pan Am Aircrash
Litigation at Lockerbie, Scotland, U.S.D.C. Eastern District of New York,
MDL #799
Member of Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel Committee, In Re: Northwest Aircrash
Litigation, Flight #255, Detroit Michigan, U.S.D.C. Eastern District of
Michigan, MDL #742
Member of Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel Committee, In Re: Air Canada
Aircrash at Covington, Kentucky, U.S.D.C., Eastern District of Kentucky,
MDL #589
Member of Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel Committee, In Re: Aircrash
Disaster at Gander, Newfoundland, U.S.D.C., Western District of Kentucky,
MDL #638 Contact: Stanley M. Chesley, Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley
(513) 621-0267
(513) 300-7700
