St. Louis Aviation Accident Lawyer

Investigating Liability in Your Accident

It’s an oft-touted fact that traveling by plane is safer than traveling by car, but in truth, your risk of being involved in an aviation accident may vary depending on flight type. Even for people flying in the safest conditions, the danger has not been eliminated. Stats from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) show that in 2017 there were a total of 1,315 aviation accidents in the U.S. Though the vast majority were categorized as “general aviation” accidents, meaning they did not affect commercial flyers, 82 involved either airlines or private commercial flights.

Airplanes are so complex that aviation accidents can occur due to various factors, but, often, negligence of some sort is to blame. Accidents may be caused by pilot error, an oversight made by the maintenance team, poor directions from air traffic controllers, unsafe budget cuts, or a defect in the airplane itself. Whoever is responsible, the victims or their families may be entitled to compensation from these parties for the losses they have suffered.

Accident Causes and Liability

Though commercial flight is heavily regulated, our current system still allows serious gaps where errors may occur. For private flights, which have fewer constraints, the danger is much higher. This difference is reflected in the disparity of crash rates between the two. However, the most common cause of aviation accidents is human error. The NTSB studied thousands of crashes that happened between 2011 and 2015 and found the most frequent reasons were:

1. Loss of control while on the ground
2. Loss of control while in the air
3. Malfunction of the plane’s power systems
4. Abnormal runway contact
5. Malfunction of the plane’s non-power-related systems
6. Fuel management

Of these, the top two were also the most likely to be fatal; therefore, preventing ocertain accident types could save many pilots and passengers alike each year.

A Case Study: Multiple Parties to Blame in Lion Air Boeing Crash

Though many of the above causes seem to rest purely on human error, at times there are systemic problems underneath. For example, the problems with the Boeing 737 Max caused the plane to misinterpret a sensor reading and lower the nose of the plane, causing an unplanned descent. However, the actions of those on the ground also contributed to the Lion Air crash in Indonesia.

The plane involved in the crash should have been grounded because of a cockpit error, due to a BBC report. Further, a sensor that had been replaced was not tested either before or after purchase; this may have contributed to faulty readings. When the plane’s nose began to tilt down because of the error in Boeing’s software, the first officer was slow to start a process that should have been second nature. These few errors, combined with the flaw in the plane itself, caused 189 deaths. All of these parties share blame, and liability, for the accident.

Representing You in an Airplane Accident Claim

If you have sustained an injury or lost a family member in an aviation accident, then please do not hesitate to contact a St. Louis aviation accident attorney at our firm today. Our team is ready to assist you in establishing liability in your accident case so you can pursue damages. You might be able to win compensation for items such as:

• Lost income
• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering

We are ready to take immediate action on your personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Meyerkord & Kurth is a personal injury law firm that helps clients throughout St. Louis with complex, highly technical cases—like those involving aviation accidents. Our team has more than 100 years of combined experience representing clients in injury and medical cases. Further, we take every case seriously and provide you the knowledge you need to make informed decisions.

We promise to contact you within 24 hours after receiving your call, and we’ll meet you wherever is most convenient. Our client-focused methods have helped us build a reputation such that other attorneys seek to partner with us or even refer clients to our firm. Schedule a free consultation with our team today to learn more about what we can do for you.

If you have lost a loved one in an airplane accident or suffered an injury yourself, contact us online or call (800) 391-4318 today to get started with your case.