Washington State Court holds aircraft company not liable in Mexico crash

April 25, 2011 at 8:02 am | Posted in Aviation Law Current Event | Leave a comment

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: SFGate.com/ Associated Press

(April 7, 2011) Washington state’s highest court found Thursday that an aircraft company was not liable for a plane crash that killed seven anti-narcotics agents for the Mexican government in 2004, a ruling that makes it unlikely their families will ever see compensation for their deaths.

The justices split 6-3 in favor of Twin Commander Aircraft LLC, saying federal law bars certain lawsuits stemming from crashes of planes that are more than 18 years old.

The two-propeller, seven-passenger Twin Commander 690C, manufactured in 1981, crashed when its rudder came apart over the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes on May 2, 2004, en route from Ciudad Juarez to Mexico City. On board were two federal pilots, Jesus Arciniega and Marcelino Gonzalez, and agents Juan Galindo, Pablo Lozada, Cesar Maya, Ulises Desposorio and Marinela Elizalde. [Full story]