Military T-39 Crash Case Resolved
Kreindler partners Dan Rose, Anthony Tarricone and Counsel Frank Fleming resolved the last of three wrongful death cases brought on behalf of the families of active duty Navy and Air Force aviators against a government contractor arising out of the crash of a military training plane.
The fatal crash occurred in Georgia during a low-level navigation training flight in January of 2006. Two of the military personnel were student navigators learning how to navigate at 500 feet above the ground at 350 mph. The third active duty person was a navigator instructor. The plane was being piloted by a 68-year-old retired military pilot who was employed by a government contractor.
The families claimed that the government contract pilot negligently piloted the aircraft by failing to clear a 700-foot ridge line, clipping trees on the top of the ridgeline, causing substantial parts of the wings to break off and resulting in the crash that killed all aboard.
The last of the three claims was settled confidentially in October, less than two weeks before trial. Earlier this year, a strikingly similar crash occurred involving the same type of aircraft being piloted by a pilot employed by the same government contractor.