San Diego Personal Injury Blog

If you or a loved one have been involved in an aircraft crash, you may be asking, “what do I do now?”

Seek immediate assistance from qualified medical professionals to address any physical or emotional injuries you may be experiencing; Do not accept any settlement offer from an airline or other responsible party, or their insurance company, until you speak with an attorney with experience in aviation litigation; Keep records of all related expenses that you incur, including any medical expenses; Contact an attorney with aviation litigation experience as soon as possible, as statutes of limitation and other legal restrictions limit the amount of time after an incident you have to make a claim.

Although relatively rare, aircraft crashes can involve catastrophic injuries and death when they occur.

Engine or component failure

Problems with aircraft engines and component parts are among the most common causes of aircraft crashes.

On Saturday, July 6, 2013, a Boeing 777 airplane operated by Asiana Airlines crashed on final approach into San Francisco International Airport (SFO). According to the National Transportation Safety Board, Asiana Airlines pilots flew below the SFO visual glide path and made impact with the seawall short of the runway.

In another case capturing nationwide attention, CaseyGerry obtained settlements of $9.5 million for victims of the Reno Air Show catastrophe, which stemmed from the crash of a World War II-era P-51D Mustang fighter plane – known as “The Galloping Ghost” – during the 2011 air races at Reno/Stead Airport in Nevada.

Tragic Mid-Air Collision Between Cessna and Sabreliner Kills Five in San Diego Airspace

CaseyGerry’s client, a Qualcomm marketing executive, was piloting a single-engine Cessna 172M in 2016 when it was struck by a twin-engine jet near San Diego’s Brown Field Municipal Airport.

In 1978, a Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) collided with a single-engine Cessna over San Diego’s North Park neighborhood killing 144 people. Our firm represented passengers in the flight – which to this day, is still the worst aircraft accident in California history.

On July 4, 2015, a 12-year-old boy was seriously injured when a single-engine Piper PA 18 Super Cub towing an advertising banner crashed on a crowded Carlsbad beach. Casey Gerry’s airplane accident attorneys represented his family in litigating and ultimately negotiating a confidential settlement in the case, which involved the pilot’s failure to maintain a 500-foot distance from innocent people on the ground.

Despite aviation being a highly regulated industry, human errors and mechanical failures still contribute to crashes.

The FAA oversees much of the aviation manufacturing and servicing industry, including approving companies for many of the methods used in designing and manufacturing parts, ongoing review of design, facilities, processes and quality control.