Aviation Disasters

Bowles & Verna, LLP has over 30 years of experience in aviation litigation. Over the past 10 years, we have been involved in nearly every major aviation crash and have received over $100,000,000 in settlements and verdicts. Below is a sampling of the recent aviation cases that Bowles & Verna, LLP has been involved in:

• September 29, 2006 - Gol Airlines Flight 1907 (Boeing 737-800) was a midair collision with an Embraer business Jet over the Amazon in Brazil. The collision occurred due to the failure of a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS). The accident resulted in the death of 154 people.
• August 13, 2006 - Robinson R-44 helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Oregon in poor weather, killing all three on board. The cause of the accident is still being investigated.
• November 2005 - Cessna Caravan (Model 206) crashes in severe weather near Moscow, due to failures in aircraft's de-icing system. The crash killed all eight people on-board.
• August 14, 2005 - Helios Airways Flight 522 (Boeing 737-300) crashed into a mountain north of Marathon and Varnavas, Greece, killing 121 people. The cause of the accident was pilot incapacitation due to gradual decompression that was not detected due to an improper pilot warning system.
• August 10, 2005 - Sikorsky (Model S-76) Helicopter crashes in the Baltic Sea due to faulty servo which caused the helicopter to go out of control. All 14 people on-board perished.
• April 24, 2005 - United Airlines (Boeing 767) passenger severely injured in flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco, when object falls from overhead bin hitting passenger on head.
• May 7, 2005 - Transair Metorliner airplane crashed into the hillside above Lockhart River on Cape York, Australia. The accident killed all 15 people on board. An extensive accident investigation determined that the accident was caused by the failure of the Air Safety Regulator.
• December 20, 2004 - Robinson (Model R-44) helicopter crashed in Lanarca, Spain, killing all three people. The cause of the accident is still being determined.
• January 3, 2004 - FlashAir Flight 504 (Boeing 737) crashes into the Red Sea on take-off from Sharm El Sheikh killing 135 people. The cause of the accident is never determined as the black box is not recovered.
• November 12, 2001 - American Airlines 587 (Airbus 300-600) crashes into Belle Harbor, New York. The accident plane had 265 passengers on-board, all who perished. The cause of the accident is believed to be an in-flight breakup, with the vertical fin and one engine landing away from the main impact site.
• October 9, 2001-Scandinavian Airways System Flight SK 686 (an MD 87) collided on take off with Cessna Citation II at Linate Airport near Milan, Italy, killing 118 people. The cause of the accident was determined to be human error.
• April 19, 2000 - Air Philippines Flight 541 (a Boeing 737) crashed on landing approach to Davao City, Mindanao. The cause of the accident was due to mechanical and operator error. All 131 people on-board perished.
• October 31, 2000 - Singapore Airlines SQ006, (Boeing 747) crashed in Taiwan during takeoff. The cause of the accident was high winds and rain which caused the plane to crash into construction equipment that was on the runway. Of the 179 people on board, 83 people perished and 44 people were injured.
• January 31, 2000 - Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Point Mugu, California, an MD-80 traveling from Mexico to Washington crashed due to loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly's acme nut threads. The thread failure was caused by excessive wear resulting from Alaska Airlines' insufficient lubrication of the jackscrew assembly. All 88 people on board the plane perished.
• October 31, 1999 - EgyptAir Flight 990, (Boeing 767) crashed off Long Island, New York killing 217 passengers. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
• August 6, 1997 - Korean Airlines Flight 801, (Boeing 747) crashed in Guam on the attempted landing. It was determined that Air Traffic Control errors caused the crash, which killed 225 people.