NTSB Report Explains Airplane Crash Earlier this November in Harlan County
On November 3, 2022, at around 10:00 am local time, a small plane crashed as it attempted to land at Tucker-Guthrie Memorial Airport in Harlan County, Kentucky. The crash killed the pilot, who was the only occupant of the aircraft. The victim was a Knoxville, Tennessee doctor who was flying to work at a hospital in Middlesboro, Kentucky. The aircraft crashed into a ravine due to a too low approach to the airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently released a report on the cause of the accident. They determined heavy fog and the lack of runway lights caused the accident. The pilot was on his third approach to the airport at the time of the accident. No mention of pilot error as the cause of the accident.
How to determine fault in an airplane accident
Normally, when there is an airplane accident it is caused by a mechanical issue or pilot error. In the accident described above in Harlan county, there is a different source of liability and that is the airport because it failed to have working runway lights. The pilot would need the runway lights to land in the dark and especially when there is fog. It would be interesting to know the conversations the pilot had, if any, with the airport as he was attempting to land his plane. His plane was flying too low to make the runway and he crashed into an embankment. He needed to be flying higher to make the runway and the lights would have allowed to see the height of the runway.
The investigation of an airplane accident can be very easy for the lawyer representing one of the injured or people killed in an airplane accident because the NTSB investigates every accident and provides the lawyer with the proof he or she needs to prove liability in most accidents. In the case of the Harlan county accident, there could be both pilot error and error by the airport that contributed to cause of this accident. If that is indeed the case, Kentucky law will require a sharing of liability between the parties based upon percentage of fault. An aviation expert may be necessary to help resolve the percentage of liability attributable to both parties.
How safe is airplane travel?
Can you guess when was the last commercial airplane crash? It was in February 12, 2009 when Continental flight 3407 attempted to land in Buffalo, New York and crashed into a house killing all 49 people on board and 1 person on the ground. The NTSB determined that pilot error due to pilot fatigue caused the accident as the plane stalled a few miles from the airport. In 2022, there were 6 world wide commercial airplane crashes claiming 174 lives. Comparatively, the United Nations reports that 1.3 million people die each year on the roadways.
Contact Kentucky Airplane Accident Lawyer
These circumstances will require the services of an experienced Kentucky airplane attorney to investigate and locate all available insurance and to maximize all benefits available to the victim’s family. Matthew Troutman, Kentucky airplane accident lawyer, of the Troutman Law Office has been handling accident claims, almost exclusively, since 1986 and has the experience and talent to obtain the best result for the victim in the above airplane accident.
If you need legal assistance due to an accident, contact Kentucky airplane accident attorney Matthew Troutman directly at 502-648-9507 or 859-696-0001 and he will meet with you in the hospital, your home or wherever is convenient for you. He will give you direct access through his cell phone and guide you through the difficult process necessary to obtain the best result possible for you in your car accident claim. To learn more about the Troutman Law Office, click here.