'06 Comair Crash - 1 pax fam receives 7.1m award!

[Flybywire44]

The family of one of the 49 dead passengers on the 2006 Comair crash was awarded 7.1 million! If every passenger's family was awarded the same figure then Comair would have a 347 million dollar liability!

What is their cash on hand and how long till the remaining lawsuits get settled?

:erm:

Judge: $7.1M for family of Comair Ky. crash victim
In last lawsuit from Comair crash that killed 49, judge orders $7.1M for victim's family
By Brett Barrouquere, Associated Press
Thursday February 10, 2011

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A judge on Thursday ordered the family of a victim of the 2006 Comair crash to divide $7.1 million in damages in the last lawsuit from the Kentucky crash.

U.S. District Judge Karl Forester ordered the wife and two daughters of Bryan Keith Woodward to split the compensatory damages award, including $750,000 for Woodward's pain and suffering. The Louisiana man was among 49 people killed when the plane crashed. Dozens of other lawsuits from the crash have already been settled, the amounts confidential.

Flight 5191 crashed Aug. 27, 2006, into a field near Blue Grass Airport in Lexington after trying to take off from a runway too short for commercial jets. The National Transportation Safety Board found the pilots failed to notice clues they were on the wrong runway. Co-pilot James Polehinke survived.

Forester's decision comes a week after he prevented Woodward's family from pursuing punitive damages, saying Comair, an Erlanger, Ky.-based subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc., couldn't be punished under Kentucky law for what the judge described as "reprehensible conduct" of the pilots.

Comair spokeswoman Christine Wever said the airline has consistently reached fair settlements.

"Since the day of the accident, we have honored our commitment to treat the passenger families fairly," Wever said. "We hope this judgment provides some measure of comfort for the family."

A message left for an attorney for Woodward's family, David Rapoport of Chicago, was not immediately returned. It was unclear whether they would appeal Forester's ruling on punitive damages.

A jury in December 2009 awarded the compensatory damages to Woodward's family. The judge previously allowed the punitive damages claim to go forward, but several legal issues delayed the trial. Then last week, Forester called off the punitive damages portion of the case.

Forester's order awarded Woodward's wife, Jamie Hebert, $1.35 million for Woodward's loss of earning power and the $750,000 for pain and suffering.

One of Hebert's daughters, Lauren Madison Hebert, will get $2 million for loss of affection and companionship from her father through her 18th birthday. Forester awarded another daughter, Mattie-Kay Hebert, $3 million for loss of affection and companionship from her father through her 18th birthday.

The daughters' ages were not immediately available.

Because Hebert had multiple attorneys over the life of the lawsuit, Forester gave attorneys in the case until March 15 to submit paperwork detailing their expenses.

Jury selection in a massive case against Comair was called off in 2008 when financial settlements were reached between Comair and all but two families of the passengers who died. One of those settled a few weeks later, leaving only the Woodward case.

Woodward, 39, and his family lived near Lafayette, La., where he was an electrician who often worked on offshore oil rigs. He was on his way to Atlanta for a connecting flight when the plane crashed.

 

[CRJ puppy]

One word: Insurance.

And if you read the entire article that you posted (second to last paragraph), you would have read that this was the last lawsuit.

 

[comrcap]

Yep, we're marketable now! Who want's to give it to us now! Staple us to the bottom of Go Jets! Yeah baby! Seriously, I'm tired of giving it up to Delta. I want to be someone else's B**ch!

 

[SiuDude]

What is their cash on hand and how long till the remaining lawsuits get settled?

:erm:

A little reading comprehension problem? From the article you posted:

"Jury selection in a massive case against Comair was called off in 2008 when financial settlements were reached between Comair and all but two families of the passengers who died. One of those settled a few weeks later, leaving only the Woodward case."


Edit: Never mind, saw CRJ's response.

 

[V-1]

It's cheaper to pay insurance premiums and attorneys than it is to provide employees with enough job security and pay that conversations and concerns about these matters don't play a role in impacting the safety of Delta's customers.

The conversation aboard 5191 has occurred, and is still occurring at every regional airline in the Delta network.

Fortunately, multiple factors that contributed to the accident in LEX haven't aligned in just the right manner and presented themselves to a different crew also distracted by where they're going to spend the night, how they're going to pay their rent/mortgage, how fatigued they are from ridiculous schedules, how they're going to pay back student loans, is their airline going to exist six months from now, etc....

yet.

 

[Flybywire44]

A little reading comprehension problem? From the article you posted:

"Jury selection in a massive case against Comair was called off in 2008 when financial settlements were reached between Comair and all but two families of the passengers who died. One of those settled a few weeks later, leaving only the Woodward case."


Edit: Never mind, saw CRJ's response.

You're both quite correct.

I wonder what the settlements were and what their insurance premiums are now. Maybe the other families wish they had not settled?

 

[jonjuan]

"$2 million for loss of affection and companionship"
WTF????//////

 

[IBNAV8R]

It's cheaper to pay insurance premiums and attorneys than it is to provide employees with enough job security and pay that conversations and concerns about these matters don't play a role in impacting the safety of Delta's customers.

The conversation aboard 5191 has occurred, and is still occurring at every regional airline in the Delta network.

Fortunately, multiple factors that contributed to the accident in LEX haven't aligned in just the right manner and presented themselves to a different crew also distracted by where they're going to spend the night, how they're going to pay their rent/mortgage, how fatigued they are from ridiculous schedules, how they're going to pay back student loans, is their airline going to exist six months from now, etc....

yet.

Call me dense but I must have missed that part in the transcript.

CMR5191 CVR transcript

 

[V-1]

Call me dense but I must have missed that part in the transcript.

CMR5191 CVR transcript

I don't believe you're dense, but perhaps you aren't aware of some of the things that were going on at Comair at the time...and again today.

The accident, despite all the f'd up things going on that morning at LEX, was ultimately blamed solely on the crew for a sterile cockpit violation.

Here is a portion of that conversation that occurred during the taxi, from the transcript you linked to:

06:3:16.4
HOT-2 yeah, I know three guys at Kennedy. actually two guys uh....
@@ he went but he didn't get past the sim.
06:3:26.7
HOT-1 oh, really.
06:3:29.1
HOT-2 and then um, a First Officer from Cinci....
06:3:34.5
GND Eagle flight radar contact, radar contact. say altitude leaving.
06:3:35.1
HOT-2 got through the second part....
06:3:37.2
HOT-2 what do you do the uh, these tests.... and he didn't, and that's as
far as he got.
06:3:40.8
GND Eagle flight eight eighty two, climb and maintain one zero thousand,
ten thousand.
06:3:49.3
HOT-2 and then @@ he actually got offered the position.
06:3:54.5
HOT-1 did he take it or....
06:3:55.5
HOT-2 yeah.
06:3:56.1

They are discussing fellow Comair pilots who had left for other opportunities.

Simply reading the CVR does not give the full context of what was occurring at the time of the accident at the Comair Circus. Just a couple of weeks before this accident, management at Comair had started campaigning for yet another concessionary agreement, and threatened bankruptcy. Many pilots at the airline during this time (as is the case today) were concerned about their economic security and were looking for opportunities to remove themselves from the imminent bankruptcy.

The conversation above...blamed by the NTSB as the "cause" of the accident, occurred as a result of the crew discussing options for dealing with additional economic stress placed upon them by Comair/Delta management.

Any number of things could have prevented the accident in LEX. One of them is having crewmembers who are not distracted by economic pressures placed upon them by their employer. Pilots who are adequately compensated, with a reasonably secure future employment outlook, have no need to discuss other job opportunities.

I'm not condoning the sterile cockpit violation, though having operated in LEX during that time, I believe the sterile cockpit issue was a very minor factor in the accident. My point is the constant pressure to "do everything with nothing, and by the way you're paid too much" mentality at every regional airline is a safety hazard that was as much to blame for the accident that occurred at LEX as any other factor. It's a shame the NTSB didn't catch this.

Perhaps if they'd shone the light on this issue, Colgan 3407 wouldn't have occurred. It was a missed opportunity.

Pilots should not need to sleep in ops because they can't afford a hotel room.

Pilots should not have to share a bedroom with ten other people because they can't afford a hotel room.

Pilots should not have to eat pretzels from the galley because they have a student loan payment due.

Pilots should not have to live in the employee parking lot in Winnebago's because they can't afford to live in domicile.

Pilots should not be afraid to call in sick during a trip, or prior to begining one after commuting in the night before, because they can't afford a hotel room.

Pilots should not have to live at home with their parents who live 3000 miles from the pilot's domicile because the pilot can't afford to live on their own, in domicile.

Pilots should not have to work second jobs during their time off because they're concerned about their economic security.

 

[Oakum_Boy]

This isn't anything new!?? I wouldn't wish this so-called "career" on anyone. Comair sucks, and that's directly a result of Delta Air Lines. As far as I'm concerned, the mainline partner is ultimately responsible; it's something that was only kinda figured out recently by the flying public after the Colgan wreck. You just can't pawn this off on two employees who by all accts. were just as concerned with their futures as every regional pilot is.

 

[bri5150]

Any number of things could have prevented the accident in LEX. One of them is having crewmembers who are not distracted by economic pressures placed upon them by their employer. Pilots who are adequately compensated, with a reasonably secure future employment outlook, have no need to discuss other job opportunities.

While I think that safety does take an unintentional hit when company morale is bad, I am going to call BS on this statement. If they were talking about Eminem winning best rap artist last night at the Grammy's, are you going to blame the rapper for the accident? The pilots f'ed up. I could happen to any of us. It's as simple as that.

 

[rickair7777]

"$2 million for loss of affection and companionship"
WTF????//////

The standard in the legal industry is that anyone is worth $1M dead.

Add to that career earning potential for a young person who has a good job or good career prospects, plus some simmering jury anger at the gross negligence portrayed on the CVR and $2M is easily attainable.

Also the family members may not have been acting out of greed...they might have just vengeance on DL/CA.

 

[Oakum_Boy]

While I think that safety does take an unintentional hit when company morale is bad, I am going to call BS on this statement. If they were talking about Eminem winning best rap artist last night at the Grammy's, are you going to blame the rapper for the accident? The pilots f'ed up. I could happen to any of us. It's as simple as that.

But they weren't talking about eminem. They were talking about getting out of that dump. Just like Colgan pilots talking about their overnight commute and lack of sleep on the broken recliner all while being physically ill. Problem is that these places- and they're mostly alike- are dead-end jobs. Dead-end jobs don't attract people who really care, nor do they foster professionalism.

Regionals can spend millions on safety programs and training ( but mostly they will do the bare minimum) but if you can't attract and retain talent, these things will continue to happen. Sorry.

Some regionals are better than others. Comair was better than most, but if the strings are too tight, wrecks will happen. Sorry again. You have to look at the bigger picture here.

 

[CRJ puppy]

Agreed

 

[V-1]

While I think that safety does take an unintentional hit when company morale is bad, I am going to call BS on this statement. If they were talking about Eminem winning best rap artist last night at the Grammy's, are you going to blame the rapper for the accident? The pilots f'ed up. I could happen to any of us. It's as simple as that.

The pilots made an error. There were a number of factors that made that error easier to make than it should have been.

Managing distractions is something we all do on a daily basis. At some point every single one of us will reach a point where we cannot keep up with all the distractions, and one of the balls we're juggling will get dropped.

Hearing one's employer say that without yet another round of concessions the company will likely cease to exist can be a pretty big distraction for pilots who are already economically stressed.

Personally I know there's a pretty small chance I'd be discussing what Lady Gag wore at the Grammy's on the flight deck - but if I'd just heard my paycheck and my family's economic security was being threatened by my employer AGAIN....there is an increased likelihood I'm going to want to discuss options for mitigating the threat. Analyzing risk and planning strategies to reduce that risk is what good pilots do.

The situation is not unique to Comair, and I'm not writing the crew performed as well as they could have. Perhaps if they'd had a substantial amount of savings, or easily transferable skills that would not guarantee them a substantial cut in pay and quality of life, the crew wouldn't have been distracted by the very recent announcement that their jobs were at risk. Perhaps they'd have been discussing Eminem. It's just as likely they'd have been discussing nothing beyond what was required to do their job.

I don't want my attorney, doctor, accountant, or pilot wondering how they're going to pay their bills next month when they're working for me. Perhaps some of us think this is acceptable. We are, after all, an "everything for nothing is my constitutional right" Wal-Mart society. We feel like we've been ripped off if we leave a gas station after buying ten gallons of gas, then see a station just down the street that was a penny a gallon cheaper. Never mind that we've got six dollars worth of change rattling around on the floor underneath our seat.

The sad thing is, nothing has changed. Forty-nine people died, and we're still dealing with the same safety-compromising airline industry management.

Shame on the NTSB for taking the easy way out and blaming the dead instead of highlighting the numerous issues that contributed to the tragedy in LEX.

 

[SBD]

The pilots made an error. There were a number of factors that made that error easier to make than it should have been.

Managing distractions is something we all do on a daily basis. At some point every single one of us will reach a point where we cannot keep up with all the distractions, and one of the balls we're juggling will get dropped.

Hearing one's employer say that without yet another round of concessions the company will likely cease to exist can be a pretty big distraction for pilots who are already economically stressed.

Personally I know there's a pretty small chance I'd be discussing what Lady Gag wore at the Grammy's on the flight deck - but if I'd just heard my paycheck and my family's economic security was being threatened by my employer AGAIN....there is an increased likelihood I'm going to want to discuss options for mitigating the threat. Analyzing risk and planning strategies to reduce that risk is what good pilots do.

The situation is not unique to Comair, and I'm not writing the crew performed as well as they could have. Perhaps if they'd had a substantial amount of savings, or easily transferable skills that would not guarantee them a substantial cut in pay and quality of life, the crew wouldn't have been distracted by the very recent announcement that their jobs were at risk. Perhaps they'd have been discussing Eminem. It's just as likely they'd have been discussing nothing beyond what was required to do their job.

I don't want my attorney, doctor, accountant, or pilot wondering how they're going to pay their bills next month when they're working for me. Perhaps some of us think this is acceptable. We are, after all, an "everything for nothing is my constitutional right" Wal-Mart society. We feel like we've been ripped off if we leave a gas station after buying ten gallons of gas, then see a station just down the street that was a penny a gallon cheaper. Never mind that we've got six dollars worth of change rattling around on the floor underneath our seat.

The sad thing is, nothing has changed. Forty-nine people died, and we're still dealing with the same safety-compromising airline industry management.

Shame on the NTSB for taking the easy way out and blaming the dead instead of highlighting the numerous issues that contributed to the tragedy in LEX.

Word to the Mutha!

 

[imacdog]

If I remember right this accident took place only a few weeks after Delta announced an RFP, with much of the flying targeted at replacing Comair. It was a very stressful time to be flying there, if you were the type to worry about little things like steady employment and putting food on the table.

 

[kmox29]

The pilots made an error. There were a number of factors that made that error easier to make than it should have been...Shame on the NTSB for taking the easy way out and blaming the dead instead of highlighting the numerous issues that contributed to the tragedy in LEX.

Your first statement is 100% true. The second one is not. Read the conclusions from the official report. While the pilots ultimately took the 'Probable Cause' blame (as they should have in this accident), the NTSB highlighted 28 'Conclusions' which placed 'Findings' on the FAA, ATC, and Airport Construction.

 

[Ad Lib]

If I remember right this accident took place only a few weeks after Delta announced an RFP, with much of the flying targeted at replacing Comair. It was a very stressful time to be flying there, if you were the type to worry about little things like steady employment and putting food on the table.

If memory serves correctly, the RFP announcement was on Thursday. Comair was told if they did not accept concessions, they could lose all their flying. The accident happened the following Sunday.

That having been said, may airlines have endured bankruptcy and cessation of operations. Our Profession requires discipline.

 

[johnpeace]

ASA is now needlessly saddling it's crews with the stress and tension of declining QOL and more work for less money.

It's a situation ripe for disaster.

Stay extremely safe and vigilant everyone!