News - Survivor of Ky. crash sues manufacturer

[WalterSobchak]

I dont think that he had a choice in suing them. He was being sued by everyone and his attorney probably had to try and deflect the blame.

Where is ALPA's "protection" on this one? The way I see it, if my union is going to talk up "protection", I shouldn't have to worry about having to sue everyone in sight to save my arse.

 

[XPOO]

Where is ALPA's protection on this one?

OH, NO YOU DI'INT!!!

 

[IronCityBlue]

Consumers don't get anywhere near the kinds of generous bankruptcy protections that corporations enjoy.

Maybe not, but I'd give all my money away, every single penny, before I gave it to personal injury attorneys. And lots of people are attacking this guy for what appears to be the mistaken attitude that he is suing the aircraft manufacturer. I would agree that if that were the case, it would be disgusting. But he is suing the parties responsibile for the signs and markings, which varied from comfusing to outright wrong. Good for him, I hope he has a case.

Pilots acting in good faith that make a mistake, especially with numerous contributing factors, should not be allowed to be personally sued. Think about that WestJet/Northewest near miss:

Immagine if those aircraft hit. The accident report would have mentioned the WestJet's failure to come up on the proper ground control frequency. The FAA is already trying to pass some of the buck to them like that. Despite the fact that AFTER they came up on the "wrong ground frequency" the ground controler cleared them to cross an active runway in use. At that point the pilot should no longer be responsibile, ATC is.

A Japanese FA hits clear air severe turb (that wasn't even burried anywhere in 100 pages of NOTAMS, SIGMETS, etc) and the Captain is criminally procecuted. He's exhonerated, and their prosecuter appeals and tries again!

The Brasil midair where they tried, very very desperately and for a long time, to procecute those 2 legacy pilots.

AirMidwest where they mentioned that the W&B may have been 100 pounds overweight which was a contribiting factor. YGTBFSM!

In almost ANY accident there will be something they can pin on the pilots. We need to be protected from the ambulance chasers. We need a very strong loser pays system, as well as civil and even criminal charges that apply to both attorneys and their clients for bringing frivolous lawsuits into the court system and into the lives of others.

Some guy scud runs and plows it in and now the manufacturer of every component in the aircraft as well as his CFI 10 years ago who gave him his primary is sued? Sorry, case dismissed, go directly to jail. And take your lawyer with you.

 

[doh]

I wouldn't be in his shoes for nothing! That boy is effed with a capital E! I can't even begin to know what he is going through. Is he even the one calling the shots here? He has permanent brain damage fer chrissakes! Some one else had to have made this decision. You people who stand so smugly in judgement of this guy are evil. Each and every one of us is capable of a lapse that results in disaster. A little humility wouldn't hurt you, nor would a little compassion. Jim, I wish only the best possible out come for your future. That is all I am qualified to do.

 

[XJohXJ]

I was speaking up in defense of the pilot. A previous poster had said "why doesn't the pilot just declare BK". I pointed out that thanks to the (05 or 06) Congress, all of the true BK protections for consumers were eliminated, thereby leaving this FO unprotected.

I'm on the side of those arguing for compassion, sympathy and understanding. I apologize if I did not make that clear enough.

This FO is getting screwed for making a simple, but deadly, mistake that any one of us could have just as easily made. Furthermore, while the final error was determined to be pilot error, the NTSB neglected the opportunity to sufficiently raise all of the contributing factors. Now this guy is forced to fight for his life (and his families' lives) a second time.

Meanwhile, a strong contingent of the typical FI types want to lynch the poor guy. Pathetic.

 

[CE402]

Frivolous lawsuits anger me like few other things...especially where aviation is affected; however, until we know ALL the facts you can't judge the guy. Maybe his lawyers (or the lawyers for the insurance co.) are handling doing all this while he watches from the sidelines -- you never know.

 

[Poahi]

So, out of curiosity, what exactly is the hourly monetary value of 90 people?

Certainly more than we're being paid now. We under-estimate our own responsibility.

 

[Striptyler]

I've read it estimated at 5mil per pax in liability... 450mil + Aircraft+ personal property on the ground... adds up quick.

 

[Poahi]

I've read it estimated at 5mil per pax in liability... 450mil + Aircraft+ personal property on the ground... adds up quick.

... and all that for $20.00 an hour.

 

[Sawmill]

<deleted>

 

[Striptyler]

Simply, i would hope like hell not to survive anything like this. After watching all the family's, children and loved ones board the plane. Were i to kill off that many people, i would simply wish i could pay every penny they needed. 5 million is not enough. NO amount of money can replace lossing a kid, husband or wife. I hope all the family's get the money, they deserve it. They put their faith in that flight crew, that FAA tower, and that Airport lighting system. Together, they failed those passengers in the gravest way, and most of that blame should rest on the flight crew. Everything i read screams complacency, and look what happened.


Pay them. It is owed

 

[~~~^~~~]

I don't see how anybody who watched the NTSB hearing on this is surprised by Pohelinke's actions. This crew was given no warning the taxiways were changed the night before. There was nothing on the release, nothing on their Jepp charts, and nothing on the ATIS. Both of the flights that departed before had notations on the release about the taxiways. Even the Eagle FO admitted to the NTSB he was mometarily confused as they were taxiing out. It was one of the most contentuous NTSB hearings on record, with two members filing the NTSBs version of a dissenting opinion (including the one who was the onsite investigator in LEX).

This does not excuse the crew's failure to notice the incorrect heading. But it also should not allow others with culpability in this accident to walk away unscathed. Hopefully Pohlenke's suit will direct the attention to some others that deserve blame in this as well.

Excellent post. Some Corporate pilots I am friends with got disoriented with the layout and incorrect charts within 48 hours of the crash.

Unless you were there, you really don't understand.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Hello Newman - you really are a jerk. The Pocono Pilot of SkyWest.

The guy is screwed up for life. He will need a lot of treatment and long term care. I would guess he has millions of dollars in medical expenses. It could even be the attorney works for the medical providers.

If he had a choice, do you think he would rather have $10,000,000, or to somehow be able to turn back the clock and prevent this from happening?

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Coming from a pansy machismo sexist, I'll take that as a complement. Have fun getting manipulated your entire life by people that seek out your compassion and empathy and use it to their advantage strong bull.

Have fun being on guard, not trusting anyone and living a limited life....

Maybe he should sue the people that planted the trees off the end of the runway too.....

God? Mother nature?


You'd come across as smarter if you'd keep your pie hole shut till the end of the lawsuit...

What do you think of the AMR pilots wife in the LIT accident that sued the airport for incorrectly installed structures at the then end of the runway... she won.

 

[HelloNewman]

What do you think of the AMR pilots wife in the LIT accident that sued the airport for incorrectly installed structures at the then end of the runway... she won.

I do not blame her I blame the system which allows these ridiculous lawsuits. The problem is jurors are 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty so you can convince them of anything. It isn't about who is right or wrong it is about which lawyer can do the best tapdance. A reason why there should be a cap on these type lawsuits