Tragic! Since the invention of the airplane, human error has been implicated in 70 to 80% of all civil and military aviation accidents.
Simply writing off an aviation accident to "pilot error" or "the pilot failed to control aircraft" is overly simplistic, if not naive, approach to accident causation and certainly not fair to all involved parties.
Most general aviation accidents cases involve privately owned and operated aircraft. Litigation involving these accidents will likely focus on a number of possible causes such as pilot negligence, pilot error, defective parts or faulty maintenance, air traffic control mistakes, unsafe flying and weather conditions, to name a few.
The challenges of proving causation can be complex. Yet, by applying my wealth of diversified expertise in aviation, I have successfully represented clients in a number of challenging cases.
Aircraft accident investigation is an art and a science requiring an investigator who is diversified as a pilot and also has real-world aircraft accident investigative experience. One who can go above and beyond utilizing tools such as the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System to analyze and determine what exactly happened in an accident with a focus on the human element, the most likely cause of the accident.
The NTSB Investigation
Waiting on the final NTSB accident report can takes years! A quick search on the NTSB’s website validates that not only does it take years to complete their investigations, but their findings are often vague with no determination of a root cause. In addition, their opinions on probable cause are not admissible as evidence at a trial.
The injured party’s representatives have no right to be a part of the NTSB investigation. This inequity validates that the plaintiff needs an independent investigation to gather facts and/or an expert witness to analyze the NTSB’s facts and then testify to an opinion of the proximate cause of the accident, based on the facts.
An independent investigation needs to be started as soon as possible by an experienced aviation expert witness / investigator since evidence is fleeting. Freedom of Information Act information needs to be gathered from a variety of sources such as the FAA.
70-80% accidents are attributed to error. The human element is systematically analyzed for every accident to determine if pilot error was the root cause. An analytical and systematic approach is used to analyze over 50 elements of pilot performance and behavior to determine if error was the cause and to what degree. In addition, each investigation concludes with proactive recommendations to the pilot, the FAA, NTSB, and the aviation industry to prevent a similar accident from reoccurring in the future.
Accident Facts (source: Air Safety Foundation):
- Personal flying accounts for half of all GA flight activity, but more than 80% of the fatal accidents.
- Personal flight accident rate is more than eight times the accident rate of business aircraft.
- The highest risk flights are night IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions). Most of the accidents that occur under these conditions are fatal, resulting in a fatal accident rate for night IMC that is more than four times the overall fatal accident rate.
- Landing accidents are the most frequent category of GA accidents, accounting for more than 40 percent of pilot-related accidents.
- Maneuvering flight accidents were the highest category of fatal general aviation accident. Maneuvering is about piloting skills, the physical handling of the aircraft and the ability to put the machine just where you want it.
- Pilots who have less than 100 hours total time or time in type are statistically more likely to be involved in a takeoff accident.