EgyptAir Flight 990 departed JFK for Cairo. After reaching cruise altitude near Nantucket, it suddenly pitched down and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. There was no apparent reason for the crash. The NTSB ultimately concluded that the cause of the crash was the co-pilot’s “intentional actions.” Specifically, the pilot suddenly pushed the yoke forward and held it there, killing all 217 aboard.

The Egyptian government disagreed with the NTSB’s conclusion, instead blaming the crash on a defect in the design of the 767’s elevator system. Boeing knew that if certain rivets in the elevator’s bellcranks fail, the elevator can jam, causing the aircraft to pitch down and become uncontrollable. Instead of requiring that the airlines replace the suspect rivets with more reliable fasteners, Boeing told the airlines to simply inspect the rivets more regularly. But Boeing knew even before the crash of Flight 990 that the inspection protocol was not effective in catching rivets that had failed. According to the Egyptians,

Equally, if not more disturbing, is the NTSB’s total disregard of the relevance of the unequivocal evidence of either sheared or deformed bellcrank rivets, not only on EgyptAir 990, but also on other Boeing 767 aircraft.

The FAA came to agree that simply inspecting the rivets more frequently was not the answer. So in March 2014 – 15 years after the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990, the FAA warned airlines that “failures or jams in the [Boeing 767’s] elevator system” can result “in a significant pitch upset and possible loss of control” and ordered airlines to replace the rivets with fasteners that were more reliable,

Boeing 767 Elevator Bellcranks

So far, so good. But, somewhat surprisingly, the FAA gave the airlines until 2020 to make the repairs.

Atlas Air Flight 3591 was, of course, a Boeing 767, just like EgyptAir Flight 990. And like EgyptAir Flight 990, the Atlas Air flight suddenly pitched down and crashed for no apparent reason.

If it turns out the Atlas Air Flight 3591 crashed because of what everyone seems to agree is a defectively designed elevator control system, one would have to ask why Boeing and the FAA gave the airlines six years to fix the problem.

Monica Kelly’s lawyer writes to say that a entry contained false and defamatory matter about his client.  He encloses a 2016 report of the Review Board of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission recommending that, contrary to the Hearing Board’s conclusion that Kelly filed a frivolous pleading and recommending that she be suspended for 60 days, Kelly’s pleading in fact did not violate ethical rules and that she should not be suspended as a result.  Glad to provide her lawyer’s full input on the matter below.

Aerobatic hall of fame pilot Eddie Andreini was flying a routine at the Travis Air Force Base. He was attempting a stunt known as an inverted ribbon cut. Something went wrong. Eddie’s Stearman slid upside down along the runway, coming to a stop at show center. His Stearman caught fire. Eddie couldn’t get out. The crowd watched, prayed, and waited for fire trucks to arrive. Some bystanders wanted to rush to the plane to help, but the announcer warned everyone to stay back and “let the firefighters do their job.”

Continue Reading Air Force Agrees to Change ARFF Procedures; Pay $1.4 Million to Settle Andreini Death Lawsuit

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 NTSB hasn’t yet issued its report on the fatal Skylife air ambulance crash in December 2015. But a Fresno judge has ruled that regardless of the cause, the family of one of the paramedics on board will not be allowed to sue either the operator of the helicopter (Rogers Helicopter) or the helicopter’s owner,   (American Airborne), regardless of whether they were negligent in the helicopter’s operation or maintenance.

As it turns out, both entities were partners with the paramedic’s employer, Skylife .  An employee cannot sue his employer for a work related injury or death.  Nor can he sue the employor’s partner.

Such claims are barred by the Workers’ Compensation laws.

 

 Aviation journalist Christine Negroni reports in Forbes that Monica Ribbeck Kelly, the lawyer who instituted “frivolous” legal proceedings after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing, has herself disappeared.  Not only was the Illinois Ethics Committee after Kelly, but she was being sued by victims of an airline disaster in China for promising to file suit on behalf of victims but failing to do so before the statute of limitations expired, leaving the victim’s without any legal recourse.  It appears that Kelly has shuttered her law office and gone back to her native Peru. 

According to Negroni, maybe this is the last we see of Ribbeck: 

There are few successful days in court associated with Monica Ribbeck [Kelly]’s high-profile representation of air disaster victims.  So while her departure from the US may deprive dissatisfied clients . . . of any legal recourse, it could be the last we see of her shenanigans with the American legal system.

 

If the United States Government is responsible for an accident, it can be sued just like any other wrongdoer under the Federal Tort Claims Act.  But there’s an important exception — the federal government cannot be sued for bad decisions that the government left to the federal employee’s best judgment.  The "Discretionary Function Exception" is perhaps the most important limitation on a victim’s right to sue the government when it causes injury or death.  And the exception is complicated. Claire Choo helps unravel it.

 

Tort Claims Act  

Robinson helicopters are popular in New Zealand.  But while they make up only 35% of New Zealand’s helicopter fleet, they account for 64% of all of New Zealand’s fatal accidents.  

Why?

Some say the helicopter is especially prone to "mast bumping," a phenomenon where the rotor head tilts to such a degree that the rotor hub damages the mast on which on which it is attached.  In Robinson helicopters, a mast bump almost always causes the rotor head and the helicopter’s blades to separate from the aircraft.  The result is illustrated in the video.   

 

 

An article appearing this weekend in the New Zealand Herald explains the controversy and, in particular, why the unique design of the Robinson’s rotor head may be to blame.