ICON Aircraft hired away from Ford Motor Company a superstar PhD to lead its engineering department.  When Cagri Sever showed up at ICON’s facility in Vacaville, the first thing ICON did was send him off on a “demonstration” flight with the company’s chief pilot, Jon Karkow. Karkow flew to
Lake Berryessa, a virtual stone’s throw from the ICON factory.  Once there, Karkow couldn’t resist the urge to engage is some low level maneuvering over the water.  Minutes after takeoff, Karkow crashed onto the shore, leaving both of them dead.Continue Reading Family Sues ICON for Fatal A5 Crash

The Montreal Convention requires airlines to compensate international travelers who are injured as a result of an “accident.”  If the passenger is killed, the Montreal Convention requires the airline to compensate the family members. But the Convention considers neither an airliner’s pilots nor its flight attendants to be “passengers.”  Thus, crew members’ claims (or the

When an EMS helicopter goes down, our legal system treats the family members of theTerry and VictorTacoronte passengers lost in the accident quite a bit differently from the families of the crew.  For example, while the family members of the passenger may perhaps get their day in court, the claims of the crew members’ families are usually precluded

Who can be held responsible for compensating the Mountain Lifeflight families, and who is immune from suit?   

Maintenance.  If faulty maintenance is proven to be the cause of this helicopter crash, the families can recover against the maintenance company, provided that the families can prove that the maintenance company was negligent.  There is