Despite major incidents of airplane crashes and malfunctions, airplanes remain the safest mode of travel in the United States. For instance, in 2002 there was only 1 major plane accident, 1 serious plane accident, 14 accidents classed as Injury status and 25 incidents that merely created damage. In 2004, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released aviation accident statistics showing a decrease in most of the civil aviation categories, which included scheduled airliners, air taxis and other general aviation operations. It is important to note that commercial Airlines represent 90% of air traffic in the U.S. and that, due to errors and negligence on behalf of the commercial airline industry, that there were 2,000 deaths between 1982 and 1998.
Nevertheless, major airplane accidents do occur for a variety of reasons. In many cases, planes flying during the winter months are not sufficiently de-iced or there can be other general maintenance issues. No one can forget that there can be pilot error or negligence as in the case of America West pilots drinking before flying. Additionally, there can be errors made by air traffic controllers, poor weather conditions on landing or mechanical failure leading to plan accidents. There are also commercial manufacturing malfunctions and defective plane parts to consider.
Many of these problems are actionable if you are injured during a plane accident. For instance, there has been an extensive investigation in the crash of a Chalk's Ocean Airways plane that crashed into the ocean near Miami Beach in December of 2005. It appeared that the wing of the plane had separated from the fuselage and the Safety Board engineers agree that the culprit appears to be fatigue fractures in the metal of the plane. It’s possible that the plane manufacturer or the airline will be considered at fault if the plane itself was faulty or in poor condition due to age. Relatives of survivors may have actionable claims against one or both parties.
Another example would be the crash of flight 587, an American Airlines airbus that crashed in Queens in November of 2001. In this case, although malfunction of the plane or its mechanics were initially suspected, the ultimate culprit was pilot error. This first officer who was actually flying the plane, overreacted to an incidence of wake turbulence and as a result of putting too much load on the plane's vertical stabilizer, caused it to separate in flight, precipitating a crash where all 260 people aboard died and 5 people on the ground were also killed. Additionally, the NTSB noted that the rudder system used by the plane was too susceptible to damage and separation. Because of pilot error and failure of mechanical equipment, American Airlines may be culpable for the injuries and deaths sustained by the crash of flight 587.
If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in an airplane accident, you need to contact a reputable airplane accident lawyer to represent you. Airplane accident lawsuits are highly technical and incredible complex. You should make sure that you engage an attorney with airplane crash lawsuit experience who can guide you through the process and secure justice for you and your family.