A courageous client speaks to Stephen Stock about the risks to the flying public.
General Aviation
New Icon A5 Purchase Contract Will Require Buyers to Sign Away Their Rights to Sue
In the face of intense market rejection, Icon says it has heard its customers and is going to revise the rather onerous purchase contract it planned to require of its buyers. It hasn’t yet made the new contract public. But in a statement it says that one thing the new contract will keep is the…
Icon Aircraft A5 Purchase Agreement: Who would sign this thing?
As AOPA is pointing out, Icon’s 41-page purchase agreement for its long-awaited A5 is, well, “unusual.”
Perhaps what is most troubling is its language that seeks to allow Icon to dodge liability for any accident, regardless of its cause.
Founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins told AOPA that Icon believes in "extreme responsibility."
What we’re trying
…
Piper Turbo Lance Crash in Bakersfield: Icing?
Piper N36402 departed Reid-Hillview Airport for Las Vegas as it was getting dark. The pilot had his wife and three children on board. Though the weather was challenging, the aircraft was turbocharged, which would have allowed the pilot to climb above at least some of the clouds.
The plane’s flight path, speed, and altitude changes…
Van’s Aircraft Company Sued
Experimental amateur-built aircraft crash more often than those assembled in a factory. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau found that, when compared to factory-built aircraft used in similar flight operations, amateur-built aircraft crash three times as often. Our own National Transportation Safety Board studied the amateur-built accident rates and made similar findings.
One might expect that, because…
Boy Injured by Plane that Landed on Beach Sues
Nicholas Baer was body boarding in Carlsbad on the Fourth of July when a plane towing a banner crash-landed on the beach and injured him. The twelve-year-old is now suing the pilot and the company that owns the Piper that struck him. The boy’s attorney argues that even though the Piper’s engine failed, the pilot…
NTSB Recommends Crashworthy Fuel Tanks for All New Helicopters
Robinson Helicopters began installing crash-resistant fuel tanks in 2010. Robinson Helicopters with fuel tanks installed before then tend to catch fire during accidents that, but for the fire, would have been survivable.
The Australian authorities thought that the safer tanks were a good idea. Enough Robinsons had caught fire after minor accidents that in 2013…
Ella Lake, Alaska Crash Looks Like Another CFIT Accident
We don’t know much yet about the plane crash in Alaska that killed the pilot and 8 tourists from the MS Westerdam. But the crash looks eerily similar to the Alaskan crash that killed Senator Ted Stevens and three others in 2010.
Like the plane that was involved in the Westerdam crash, the plane…
Andreini Family Speaks Out
The Andreini family gave their first interview since Eddie’s death to KTVU’s John Sasaki. John asks us about the lawsuit we filed today against the United States Air Force.
Andreini Family Files Suit Against Air Force
Eddie Andreini’s plane slid to a stop at show center and caught fire. Eddie was trapped inside. The crowd watched, prayed, and waited for fire trucks to arrive. Some bystanders wanted to rush to the plane to help Eddie get out, but the announcer warned everyone to stay back and "let the firefighters do their…