Aircraft Accidents

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, in 2017 alone there were 347 people killed in the United States in General Aviation accidents.  The majority of these accidents involved some sort of error that could have been avoided, saving lives, damaged property on the ground and aircraft.  An experienced aviation accident attorney can assist aviation accident victims and their families in their time of need.  We handle these cases anywhere in the world.  If you or a loved one have been injured in an aviation accident, you should consider the following:

Types of Aviation Accidents

Helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and unmanned drones are now used in a variety of industries to transport passengers and goods and provide valuable services to the community.  However, when careless behavior results in aviation accident injuries, quick action must be taken to preserve your rights.  Common types of aviation accidents that result in injuries are:

• Commercial airline accidents
• Helicopter accidents
• Military aircraft accidents
• Charter aircraft accident
• Private jet accidents
• Drone accidents
• Skycrane helicopter accidents
• Aerial firefighting accidents
• Medical transport aviation accidents

Aviation Accidents Are Extremely Unique and Require Expertise

Due to the complex nature of aviation in general, aviation accidents cannot be handled by an inexperienced lawyer.  These cases require constant attention, massive financial investments by the law firm and a deep understanding of aeronautical science and the law.  Our aviation accident law firm will immediately deploy a team of attorneys, pilots, aeronautical engineers and accident reconstruction experts on behalf of aviation injury victims in order to:

• Preserve and gather aviation accident evidence
• Research and guidance to aviation injury victims on domestic and international aviation law
• Identify the causes of an accident
• Navigate and communicate with the bureaucratic agencies involved in aviation accident investigation
• Identify witnesses to the aviation accident
• Conduct independent aviation accident investigations
• Ensure that proper medical treatment is provided to aviation accident victims
• Provide guidance, support and legal advice to the families of deceased aviation accident victims.

Common Causes of Aviation Accidents

There are a number of routine, common causes of aviation accidents. These common causes of aviation accidents include:

Pilot Error

Pilot error is the most common cause of aviation accidents.  Negligent, careless behavior on the part of pilots and aircrew usually results in lives being lost.  Many times, inexperienced pilots are hired by aviation companies to save money at the expense of aviation accident victims.  Lack of training, experience, supervision and hiring are frequently identified as the key factor in why an aviation accident occurs.

Negligent Maintenance

Unlike automobiles, the law requires aircraft of all kinds to be maintained to high standards.  In many instances aircraft and aircraft parts must undergo annual and semi-annual maintenance inspections.  Failure to properly maintain aircraft and conduct airworthiness maintenance is a common cause of aviation accidents.  Maintenance-related accidents on take off, landing or while in the air can result in serious bodily injury or death to aviation passengers and crew.

Manufacturing Defects

The manufacturing of aircraft and aircraft parts is extremely competitive.  Many aircraft manufacturers compete for large corporate and military contracts where the lowest bidder wins aircraft manufacturing jobs worth hundreds of millions of dollars.  Unfortunately careless design, failures to properly warn pilots and passengers of potential hazards and aircraft design failures result in injuries or death to aviation accident victims and their families.

Air Traffic Control Errors

Thousands of aircraft navigate the world 24/7.  Pilots and aircrew rely on the efforts of skill air traffic controllers to guide their journey and ultimately prevent inflight aviation accidents.  Unfortunately, carelessness, inexperience, and improper hiring of aviation air traffic control personnel results in injuries or death.

Improperly Maintained Runways

Millions of aircraft weighing thousands of pounds land repeatedly on runways around the world daily.  For this reason, governments have imposed strict guidelines regarding the construction, maintenance and periodic overhauling of runways.  When these aviation regulations are ignored, lives can be lost and aviation accident injuries can occur.

Inflight Injuries on Commercial Aircraft

There are a number of common causes of aviation accidents that do not necessarily involve aircraft crashes but may involve such things as:

• Airline beverage cart accidents
• Falling or misplaced luggage accidents
• Improper maintenance of aircraft interior accidents
• Trip and fall aviation accidents
• Negligent security accidents

When you or a family member have been injured in an aviation accident inflight or otherwise, please contact our experienced aviation accident lawyers immediately.