Who you sue in an aviation accident depends on who caused or contributed to the accident. Any party who behaved negligently or intentionally can be liable. Liable parties may include:

Pilot

Pilot error is a common cause of aviation accidents. Pilots must respond rapidly to numerous factors during taxiing, takeoff, flight, approach, and landing. A mistake while performing any of these functions could lead to an aviation accident. The pilot can be responsible if they did not operate the plane in a reasonable and safe manner.

Plane Manufacturing Company

Mechanical errors may have caused the crash. Mechanical problems are usually from flaws in the design or faulty construction of the aircraft.

Plane Owner

If the owner’s failure to maintain the aircraft in a reasonably safe condition contributed to the accident, the owner can be liable. Let’s say that an airplane charter company cut corners on required or recommended maintenance of its aircraft. If doing so led to the crash, you can sue the owner.

Airplane Maintenance Company

Many airplane owners hire companies to maintain their planes, whether they own one plane or a fleet of aircraft. If the aircraft owner paid for maintenance, but the company did not perform the maintenance or did so incompetently, and this led to an aviation accident, the maintenance company can be responsible for any injuries or deaths that occur.

Airport

If the airport did not maintain the runways or other areas adequately and this failure contributed to the accident, you can sue the airport. For example, an airport is liable if they did not repair broken landing lights that mark the runways at night, and the lack of adequate lighting guidance caused a wreck.

Ground Control

Ground control can be responsible if they did not communicate correctly with the pilot or gave the pilot incorrect flight information and this failure led to the aviation accident.

How to Determine the Liable Party

In large part, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation results will determine who you can sue in an aviation accident. The NTSB will investigate the crash, gather information, collect evidence, determine the official cause of the accident, and write a report. Once the NTSB completes its investigation and writes the official report, we can review it with you and decide who to sue in your case.

Once we have determined the liable party(s), we will begin building your case. We can handle every aspect of your case. You focus on your injuries and your family.

Montero Law Center Can Help You Sue the Liable Party After an Aviation Accident

The airplane accident team at the Montero Law Center would like to talk with you about your aviation accident. Give us a call today at 954-767-6500, and we will set up your free consultation. We work on a contingency basis, which means you pay us nothing unless we win your case.