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Russian Families Sue U.S. for Plane Crash
ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press
MIAMI - Families of six Russians killed in a mid-air collision between two airplanes over Germany are suing aviation equipment manufacturers in the United States, blaming a collision avoidance system for the crash that killed 71 people.
In all, 30 Russian families plan to sue Honeywell International and four other companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of the collision avoidance system they blame for giving pilots instructions that conflicted with orders from a Swiss air traffic controller.
The six lawsuits filed Thursday in Miami allege Honeywell and the other companies failed to provide adequate procedures, instructions and training.
The Bashkirian Airlines flight slammed into the DHL International plane on July 1, 2002, just 43 seconds after receiving its first instructions from a lone staffer on duty at Zurich air traffic control. The Russian jet was taking 45 prize-winning students and their family members to vacation in Spain.
The lawsuit claims that the collision warning system told the Russian jet to climb while the controller told it to descend. The jet's pilot descended.
At the same time, the cargo plane's pilot was told twice by the warning system to descend, leading it into the passenger jet's path, the lawsuit claims.
"The Russian pilots did not have sufficiently clear instructions as to what to do when this alarm system started to give them instructions at the same time that the air traffic controller was giving them conflicting instructions," said Gustavo Fuentes, a Miami attorney who filed the six lawsuits.
In a statement, Honeywell International said it had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. But the company said an investigation into the crash indicated that the equipment functioned properly, and claimed that it was the pilots' fault for failing to follow the system's commands.
Similar lawsuits were to be filed in California, New York, New Jersey, and Washington state, Fuentes said.
The controller on duty, Peter Nielsen, was fatally stabbed outside his home on Feb. 24. Swiss police arrested a Russian architect whose wife, son and daughter died in the crash.
ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press
MIAMI - Families of six Russians killed in a mid-air collision between two airplanes over Germany are suing aviation equipment manufacturers in the United States, blaming a collision avoidance system for the crash that killed 71 people.
In all, 30 Russian families plan to sue Honeywell International and four other companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of the collision avoidance system they blame for giving pilots instructions that conflicted with orders from a Swiss air traffic controller.
The six lawsuits filed Thursday in Miami allege Honeywell and the other companies failed to provide adequate procedures, instructions and training.
The Bashkirian Airlines flight slammed into the DHL International plane on July 1, 2002, just 43 seconds after receiving its first instructions from a lone staffer on duty at Zurich air traffic control. The Russian jet was taking 45 prize-winning students and their family members to vacation in Spain.
The lawsuit claims that the collision warning system told the Russian jet to climb while the controller told it to descend. The jet's pilot descended.
At the same time, the cargo plane's pilot was told twice by the warning system to descend, leading it into the passenger jet's path, the lawsuit claims.
"The Russian pilots did not have sufficiently clear instructions as to what to do when this alarm system started to give them instructions at the same time that the air traffic controller was giving them conflicting instructions," said Gustavo Fuentes, a Miami attorney who filed the six lawsuits.
In a statement, Honeywell International said it had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. But the company said an investigation into the crash indicated that the equipment functioned properly, and claimed that it was the pilots' fault for failing to follow the system's commands.
Similar lawsuits were to be filed in California, New York, New Jersey, and Washington state, Fuentes said.
The controller on duty, Peter Nielsen, was fatally stabbed outside his home on Feb. 24. Swiss police arrested a Russian architect whose wife, son and daughter died in the crash.
