Friday afternoon saw a deadly plane crash in Northern Phoenix. Two small planes, a Cessna and a Piper Archer III, collided in mid-air near Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, causing the Cessna to catch fire on impact and killing four people.
The collision occurred around 10:00 a.m. between the planes, which were both single engines, and it is not yet clear what caused the crash. Local authorities have reported that both planes were owned by companies that operate local flight schools with training to become private or commercial pilots.
One of the schools released an official statement on its website stating that both individuals killed in its plane were flight instructors but that the school would not be releasing any personal information about either out of respect for the families involved. The same school stated that it is fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) while the NTSB conducts an investigation into the accident.
Flying continues to be one of the safest ways to travel, both within the United States and abroad. Arizona has dozens of airports from large, international airports that service commercial jets to small, private airports that are used mainly for pilot training, crop dusting, and other local tasks. However as planes continue to fly, there will continue to be plane accidents that injure or kill innocent passengers.
In this case, two planes collided and the cause remains unclear. Planes should never collide mid-air without some sort of negligence on the part of a pilot, air traffic controller, or even a defective plane. If negligence causes a plane crash that results in injuries or death, the negligence individual can be liable for criminal damages as well as civil damages, including any injuries that result.
A common reason that planes crash is due to pilot error. Whether the pilot fails to pay attention, falls asleep, or is intoxicated, an error that occurs thousands of feet above the ground is incredibly dangerous and likely to be deadly for any passengers on board. The same can be said of error on the part of an air traffic controller. It is the job of an air traffic controller to know the patterns of flight traffic and to ensure that no two planes occupy the same air space at the same time. If a controller loses track or forgets about a plane, it becomes easy for aircrafts to be too close to one another, potentially causing a collision.
When there is an accident involving a plane, the one thing that is most clear is that it is not a passenger’s fault, and sometimes it is not even a pilot’s fault. Injuries that occur as a result of a plane incident can be recovered through a civil claim. A personal injury attorney can help you set up a claim for your damages and make a recovery on your behalf.
If you have been injured in a plane crash, accident, or incident, call the Arizona personal injury attorneys at Abels & Annes, P.C. today for a free telephone consultation. We make ourselves available 24 hours a day to discuss your case and what rights you have. Call us now at (855) PHX-LAWYER or (602) 519-5191 and let us help you get a recovery you deserve.
Prior Blog Entries:
2-Year-Old Drowns in Phoenix Pool, Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, published June 3, 2013.
Head-On Crash in Arizona Leaves 4 Dead, 4 More Injured, Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, published June 1, 2013.
Resources:
Planes collide in Arizona: Four dead in crash, by Stacy Carey, examiner.com, published May 31, 2013.
TransPac Academy Media Statement, published May 31, 2013.