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Ag Plane Crash Leads to $6.7 Million Wrongful Death Verdict
When Steve Allen, a highly respected Northern California ag pilot with 26,000 accident free hours, crashed his Rockwell S-2R into a whisper-thin, barely visible galvanized steel wind observation tower on January 11, 2011, a dark and sickening secret about personal greed and avarice was exposed for all the world to see. The $6.7 million wrongful death settlement the aviator's family was awarded this month will hopefully help ensure other similar tragedies won't happen in the future. (www.flyingmag.com) Mehr...
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Because they didn't want to install a light. Some budget cuts go too far. I'm glad the Allens won.
Well, #1, when you set a rule such as a tower being lighted at 200' +, some will always find a way around it. #2, hard as it may sound, a good ag pilot always surveys his application area. Don't know what happened here but there are many of these around the country. I got to agree with Wallace 24, the rules and the court verdict are at odds. Looks like there should be some liability on part of the landowner, cause in most cases, there was a lease involved on the land. I sort of feel an appeal coming on.
You can probably bank on an appeal more than 6 mil in the bank.
probably so. The other thing I just noticed in the article is that while many have been put up, there doesn't seem to be any rush to take one down. Depending on distance, after they have served their usefulness at a location and provided the needed information, I would think they could be taken down and put up at another location rather than just leaving them and erecting a new one somewhere.
if I understand the story right, the tower was legal. If so, the rules and the court verdict are at odds. Condolences to Mr Allens family.
Just because the tower complied with the regulations doesn't mean that the people who owned and erected it bear no responsibility for this incident.
This wasn't a criminal trial, the rules and burden of proof are quite different.
This wasn't a criminal trial, the rules and burden of proof are quite different.
Well, if it was civil, it's kinda no holds barred and it's just whatever the jury thinks.
Yes, I get it. You don't go to jail, just pay money. I've been on that end of the stick myself.
